Much debated mystery of bright green parakeets' arrival in UK solved, scientists believe
The IndependentSign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. They believe Britain’s booming population of the brightly-coloured birds grew from numerous individual releases of pet parakeets, both intentional and accidental. Giant three-foot cannibal parrot discovered There may also have been two spikes in releases – 1929-31 and 1952 – caused by sensationalised media coverage of human deaths from “parrot fever” outbreaks. From 1929, the study’s authors found a string of lurid newspaper stories of people dying from psittacosis infections, which could have frightened parakeet owners into letting their birds go. “The ring-necked parakeet has become a successful invasive species in 34 countries on five continents,” the study’s lead author Steven Le Comber said.
History of this topic
Researchers: Kauai’s invasive parakeet population declines
Associated Press
City to start ‘humane slaughter’ of thousands of parakeets
The Independent
White storks spread across England for first time in 600 years as rewilding project tackles biodiversity crisis
The IndependentDiscover Related
)
