Superstitious temple-goers let a Myna bird poke holes on a piece of paper held on top of their heads to choose lucky numbers for their lottery tickets.

The feathered animal named Oleang was adopted by Buddhist monks after it fell from its nest nine months ago in Ang Thong province, Thailand.

Kind monks gave the bird its own cage under a mango tree that stood on the temple’s yard and had become a usual sight for Buddhist devouts ever since.

One day, a temple visitor out of curiosity held out a piece of paper to the bird before the animal flew onto him to peck it with its beak.

He was amazed when the holes appeared to have formed a number which he used for his winning lottery ticket.

The story had become popular among residents living near the temple so they frequented the religious building to visit the ‘lucky’ bird.

Footage shows a woman from the queue luring the Myna onto her paper so it could poke holes in it on February 10.

After around half an hour, she was able to form the number two, five, and nine from her pieces of paper.

The excited woman said she will use these numbers to try her luck in the lottery.

She said: ‘I hope the bird could help me win. It grew up in a religious place so it must be very lucky.’

The delighted temple visitors, after acquiring their numbers, would give the bird some grans and donate money to the temple.