1. Sparkie Williams was a talking budgie who 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.
Sparkie Williams earned his name after Mrs Williams called him "A bright little spark", and she taught him to speak, recite songs and sing nursery rhymes.
Sparkie Williams was so good, in fact, that he was disqualified from taking part again.
Sparkie Williams was courted by bird seed sellers and fronted the advertisement campaign for Capern's bird seed for two years.
Sparkie Williams was recorded talking with budgie expert Philip Marsden on BBC radio, and appeared on the BBC Tonight programme with Cliff Michelmore.
When Sparkie died on Tuesday 4 December 1962, Mattie Williams had him stuffed and mounted on a wooden perch at the renowned taxidermy establishment, Rowland Ward Ltd.
Sparkie Williams was then taken on a tour of Britain in an exhibition of his life and work, before coming back to the Hancock Museum in 1996.
Sparkie Williams is acclaimed as the world's most outstanding talking bird in the Guinness Book of Records.
Sparkie Williams is among the exhibits on show in the Great North Museum: Hancock.
The opera inspired by Sparkie Williams is based on Michael Nyman's 1977 piece Pretty Talk.