Native to the Indian subcontinent and sub-Saharan Africa, the rose-ringed parakeet is enjoying a population explosion in many London suburbs, turning a once-exotic pet into a notorious pest that awakens children, monopolizes garden bird feeders and might threaten British crops.

Parakeets native to Africa are thriving in England's cities. [China Daily]

One estimate put the population in Britain at 30,000 a few years ago, up from only 1,500 in 1995. Researchers at Imperial College London are now trying a more scientific census through its Project Parakeet, which enlisted birders around the country for simultaneous counts on a recent Sunday evening.

"I was delighted when I first saw one in my yard, but when you have a flock of 300, it's a different matter," said Dick Hayden, a retiree who was volunteering at Long Lane Park here in the Western suburbs of London. "They eat all the berries. They ate all the food from my feeder in one day; it was ludicrous."

There is wide agreement that the Adams and Eves behind the current population boom escaped from British pet cages or were intentionally released by their owners. The great mystery is what allowed the parakeets to procreate with such phenomenal success just in the past decade.

Theories abound. Is it that gardeners are planting more exotic ornamental plants, effectively providing imported food to match an imported bird species? That suburbanites are installing more feeders and putting out more seed? The booming British gardening industry guards sales figures and has provided little guidance.

Alternatively, some scientists suggest that a slightly warmer climate has indeed helped tip the balance, perhaps increasing the parakeet's metabolism during its February breeding season, bolstering the growth of some of its favored food or killing off a predator.

"Being tropical, they're used to a milder climate, and they've arrived here during a long spell of warm years," said Grahame Madge, a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Yet the parakeets also did fine over the past two winters, which were uncommonly cold.

"The jury's out," Mr. Madge said. "I'm not aware of any predators being removed. I'm not aware of any environmental trigger that set this off. I'm not convinced that climate is playing into it."

British officials are watching trends closely since the parakeets have proved major agricultural pests elsewhere, ravaging crops in places like India. So far, they have shown little predilection for leaving Europe's cities and suburbs for agricultural areas. (Far smaller flocks of rose-ringed parakeets have also arrived in other European cities like Brussels and Amsterdam.)

There is also concern that the wily parakeet will outcompete more restrained British birds like the nuthatch, since both species nest in holes in old trees.

So far British scientists have not documented either problem, said Hannah Peck, a graduate student with Project Parakeet, but they remain watchful.

"I saw one have it in with a jackdaw," she said, referring to a British crow that is itself quite tough. "The jackdaw lost."

Related

• Wild parakeets in Britain to be shot

Go to Forum >>0 Comments