A much-loved parakeet has been found in Dorset after going missing from its London home - more than 100 miles away.

Rambi, a large green Alexandrine parakeet, took off one day after his cage was left open during a family barbecue - having never even left home before.

The seven-year-old's family launched an extensive search for him around his home in Islington, north London, but were unable to find Rambi despite several false alarms.

However, weeks on from his sudden disappearance, owner Yianoulla Evangelou received a call from animal charity Wildlife in Need on the south coast, near Bournemouth, saying they'd found a parakeet that looks similar to theirs.

But the charity were still so doubtful it was the right bird, even when the number on a tag on Rambi's ankle was matched - saying they'd never heard anything like this happening before.

It's believed Rambi may even have hitched a ride in the back of someone's car to get from the capital to the sunny south coast.

"It's a miracle," 50-year-old Ms Evangelou said."

"We're so happy now Rambi's back. It's just so amazing. "

"But we are baffled as to ho whe got to Bournemouth and his journey. We just can't wrap our brains around it. He's a domestic bird."

Ms Evangelou explained that the family was having a barbecue in their garden in Canonbury and brought their birds out to join them.

After giving Rambi some food, she says she must have inadvertently left his door slightly ajar and, possibly scared by loud building works going on next door, he fled his cage.

The family launched a desperate search for him in the days that followed, with half of Islington on the lookout for the parakeet, which is native to Southeast Asia.

"We started searching locally the night of the barbecue," Ms Evangelou explained. "Because he's never really flown before, other than around the house, we thought he'd be nearby. "

"We all went to bed that night devastated. "

"We searched every street, knocked on every neighbours' door, put posters up, contacted every vet and pet shop - everything you can think of. "

"There was a sighting of him on the night he went missing, but we didn't hear about it until the next day. "

"It was hot - 30 to 34 degrees - and we thought he would be bound to come down into someone's garden."

Ms Evangelou was told Rambi was brought to Wildlife in Need, who are based next to Bournemouth Airport in Dorset, after being handed in by a couple who had found and taken in the bird in Milford-on-Sea in the New Forest.

According to the charity, the bird was brought to them after landing on a random woman's shoulder in a Sainsbury's car park.

"We don't understand how he got to where he did - he travelled over a hundred miles in the space of six days," Ms Evangelou continued. "

"That's unheard of. Apparently someone took him in after he'd got into a van or something. "

"The only way we will find out exactly what happened is if he tells us at some point - because he does talk. "

"The woman who took him in said she would've loved to have kept Rambi, but she knew he had an owner."

A volunteer from the animal charity conducted a 'proper investigation' and eventually found the Evangelou family's postings about their lost pet.

"We drove for more than two-and-a-half hours the day after we got the call to pick him up," Ms Evangelou continued. "

"It was the best feeling in the world. We thought he was gone forever. "

"The community were amazing. There were people out in parks at night, walking their dogs and looking for Rambi. "

"It was really nice to see people come together and get this bird home."

Ms Evangelou says her sister, Sheniz, is now even thinking of writing a children's book about his adventure, called #bringrambihome.

"He's such a loving bird with an amazing personality," she said. "

"He's very unique and he loves to dance. "

"We were worried that a cat or a bird of prey would get to him, because he's obviously not very streetwise. "

"He's a massive part of the family. He's obsessed with my 75-year-old mum, Loukia. "

"He sits on her shoulder all the time. She was praying every night for him to come home, and her prayers have been answered. "

"She was just so shocked he was found so far away. None of us can believe it."

Ms Evangelou said Wildlife in Need's volunteers were so incredulous that the parakeet was theirs that she had to keep sending photos and videos of Rambi in order to convince them it was theirs.

"They couldn't believe it was our bird," Ms Evangelou said. "

"It has been crazy. I just wish he had a camera on him so we could see exactly where he went and how."