Pesky parakeets
In this issue of Sherds, we will revisit some past stories and report on subsequent developments, starting with ring-necked parakeets – or ‘squawkers’, as they have come to be known in popular parlance. Since Sherds first wrote about the mysterious origins and rapid spread of parakeets in the city parks of the UK (see CA 312), they have extended their range even further and are now said to number in excess of 40,000 birds. They are being compared to grey squirrels for their ability to outcompete native bats and birds for food and nesting sites, and the threat that they pose to fruit growers is so serious that the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs is now considering a cull.
Numerous theories have been aired about the origin of Britain’s feral parakeets: that they escaped from pet shops or aviaries, or from Ealing Studios during the filming of The African Queen, or that they were deliberately released by Jimi Hendrix in Carnaby Street sometime in the 1960s. In fact, they have been in Britain since the mid-19th century and researchers from Queen Mary University, University College London, and Goldsmiths, University of London, have shown that today’s populations do not derive from a single ‘release event’, but from multiple releases.
These reached a peak during outbreaks of the pneumonia-like disease psittacosis, also known as ‘parrot fever’, in 1929-1931 and 1952. The disease is spread by infected birds – especially members of the parrot family. Sarah Elizabeth Cox, from Goldsmiths, announcing the conclusions from their study, said that newspaper reports of people dying from psittacosis and calling on the government to ‘stop imports of danger parrots’ frightened parakeet owners into letting their birds go. ‘If you were told you were at risk being near one, it would be much easier to let it out the window than to destroy it’, she said.
Pilgrimage cities