John Legend says his family's pet bird care will likely become permanent

John legend He says the bird he and his family are now caring for will very likely become a permanent member of the family… but it's under sad circumstances.

We took the singer out to Los Angeles on Thursday — where we talked about this new parrot he and his wife are having Chrissy Teigen They recently welcomed under their roof… something they documented on social media, introducing the feathered friend to everyone as Audrey.

The kids seem to love it, but there's a bit of a heartbreaking backstory about how Audrey came into their possession…and it involves John's father-in-law, Ron.

As JL explains to us here, the Legend family is pet sitting for the time being while Ron has some serious health issues – ones that John frankly tells us will likely lead to his death in the not-too-distant future. Because of this, the family prepares to receive Audrey.

As John put it… Audrey would probably live longer than Ron's big picture, so they were used to having her in their company – just the newest pet they'd brought into the fold.

Speaking of animal companions… John talked about dog walking and dog poop — something he says he has no problem learning, as he says he's been doing it for years after living in New York City. As an owner of several dogs…he says he's a vet on this one now.

John also tells us that if you can raise a pet, you can probably do anything.