[Animals] How these parrots went from the rainforest to the concrete jungle

[FNX Magokiler]

Temple City, California, is an unassuming city east of Pasadena that is home to the usual busy thoroughfares, shopping centers, and residential neighborhoods one expects in densely developed Los Angeles County. In addition to people and their pets, Temple City is home to a surprising avian po[CENSORED]tion.

At dusk, hundreds of wild parrots, some in large flocks, others alone or in pairs, approach from all directions, squawking loudly and flying in circles before settling on various roosts. These brightly colored birds create a spectacle by perching on trees, power lines and cell phone towers, but what makes them so distinctive is the racket they make.

In the fading light of a recent November afternoon, I watched as an especially large flock of green parrots perched on a nearby tree and, camouflaged, disappeared among the branches. Out of sight, the overwhelming cacophony of birds seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. The commotion made us understand why in English a meeting of parrots is called a pandemonium: a place where there is a lot of noise and confusion, according to the Spanish Academy of Language. The squawks sounded chaotic and random, and suddenly the birds fell silent, as if a switch had been flipped.

"Look," said Luke Tiller, my parrot guide and president of the Pasadena Audubon Association, as he pointed to a spot in the sky, "a hawk."

 

 

Tiller explained that flocking behavior offers protection to parrots. Each parrot alerts the flock to danger through vocalizations, and many birds means many watchful eyes. Additionally, the size of the flock deters predators such as hawks and hawks from attacking the parrots. As soon as the hawk left, the parrots resumed their shrill cries.

Witnessing the return of the parrots to their evening nest was a surprising and captivating experience, seemingly at odds with the dense urban environment. He also posed a question: How did these parrots, and others like them in Los Angeles, come to live so far from their native habitats in a completely different environment?

Vibrant wings in the City of Angels
Like most good Hollywood stories, the origin of Los Angeles' burgeoning wild parrot po[CENSORED]tion is debated and shrouded in myth. Some attribute this to the closure of Busch Gardens Van Nuys in the 1970s, which may have led to the release of captive birds into the city environment. There are also unconfirmed stories of mass releases of parrots during the 1992 riots, as well as accounts of parrots released during a fire at a Pasadena pet store in the 1990s.

"I think there's some truth to most of those stories," says Jamie Gilardi, executive director of the World Parrot Trust. "I don't think anyone did it intentionally. Parrots are valuable, so they're probably accidental releases."

 

https://www.nationalgeographic.es/animales