Posted on 12/30/2022 5:29:36 PM PST by DUMBGRUNT
There is a big flock of parrots in San Diego. Friends see them when fruit is available. They are noisy.
There is a big flock of parrots in San Diego. Friends see them when fruit is available. They are noisy.
The crows are now gathering in the center of our small town. They s*** everywhere and on everything. It stays till the spring rains come. They fill the skies at night. Quite a sight.
They’re pining for Lake Michigan.
Too bad there are no fjords. They pine for them.
The much more colorful Carolina parakeet was native to Illinois and did just fine there for thousands of years, until it was exterminated.
Some parrots do quite well in cold climates. Quakers/Monk parakeets don’t depend on urban microclimates- have excellent, very thick plumage that keeps them as warm as ducks. They also have feathers that cover their nostrils, (as do ravens and woodpeckers), in the case of quakers aiding in containing heat.
Unlike other parrots, who nest in cavities, monk parakeets build large communal stick nests with the entrance near the bottom. They like urban areas because that is the place where they first escaped and, of course, because there are more French fries to be found there. They simply have not needed to disperse far beyond this first home due to the abundance of food and suitable structure upon which to build nests.Not to mention there are fewer predators.
There was a parrot event in my life. I think they are beautiful, but that bird... was living on the precipice of annihilation!
They are so lonely they’re miserable in captivity. It’s sad, at the very least they should be paired. Parrot trappers should be shot.
Curious about your mention of the Carolina parakeet, I found interesting tidbits on wiki:
“Carolina parakeets were probably poisonous—American naturalist and painter John J. Audubon noted that cats apparently died from eating them, and they are known to have eaten the toxic seeds of cockleburs.”
“...It was especially noted for its predilection for cockleburs (Xanthium strumarium), a plant which contains a toxic glucoside, and it was considered to be an agricultural pest of grain crops.”
Thanx
On my first trip to Germany I was surprised to see hundreds of green parrots in Heidelberg. I was told they originated with escaped pets.
Oh GREAT! NOW we have illegal avians! 8^(
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