Sparkie Williams (1954–1962) was a talking budgie who provided the inspiration for an opera by Michael Nyman and Carsten Nicolai. The opera was performed in Berlin in March 2009. Sparkie had a repertoire of more than 500 words and eight nursery rhymes, becoming a national celebrity after fronting an advertising campaign for Capern's bird seed, and making a record which sold 20,000 copies. After he died, he was stuffed and put on show at Newcastle's Hancock Museum.