A U.K. man who tattooed his face and eyeballs to look like a parrot took his passion a step further by having his ears cut off.
Ted Richards, a 56-year-old from Hartcliffe in Bristol, England, originally covered his face and eyeballs with parrot tattoos to resemble his pet birds, Ellie, Teaka, Timneh, Jake and Bubi, Telegraph report.
Richards, who has 110 tattoos, 50 piercings and a split tongue, had his ears removed in a six-hour surgery — and even donated them to a friend. Now, he said he’s attempting to have his nose turned into a beak.
“I think it looks really great. I love it. It's the best thing that has happened to me,” he said, according to Telegraph.
“I am so happy it's unreal, I can't stop looking in the mirror," he added. "I've done it because I want to look like my parrots as much as possible. I've had my hair long for so many years my ears have been covered up. I have to admit I did used to get teased at school about my ears but that not the reason I've had it done.”

Richards said that the ears have been a point of fascination for local kids, who often ask him to “see gory photos.”
"I was really surprised - I thought they were more likely to run away,” he added.
While he wouldn’t mention the doctor who performed the surgery, Richards said he’s “happier than ever” and even entered into a relationship with a woman named Suzannah, 31.

The only issue he’s faced so far, he said, was difficulty with his glasses staying in place. To rectify this, he had two small metal pins inserted on the sides of his head.
Richards’ procedure was criticized heavily by medical professionals, including plastic surgeon Marc Pacifico.
“I am absolutely horrified to learn that someone has voluntarily put themselves forward for this to be done and possibly more so that he found somebody to actually carry it out,” he said.

“The sad truth of life though is that if you want something badly enough you will eventually find someone willing to do it," Pacifico added. "I would like to think whoever did this is not medically qualified because that would call into judgment their ethics and morals.
"As an accredited plastic surgeon you have to have a great sense of moral and ethical responsibility. I can only assume the ethical code and moral compass of whoever did this does not.”
Sources: Daily Mail, Telegraph / Photo credit: D Coetzee/Flickr, leander.canaris/Flickr