piles of parrot species are constitute permanent homes in almost half of the United States , harmonise to a new depth psychology published in theJournal of Ornithology .
At least 56 different parrot species have been spotted in the wild in 43 state . Of these , 25 species are now multiply in 23 different body politic . But how did they get there ?
The US primitively only had two aboriginal metal money : the now - extinct Carolina parakeet and the thickly - charge parrot , a Mexican species that proceed into the southwesterly state but has since been extirpated . But during the fifties and ' 60 , tens of thousands of Thelonious Sphere Monk parakeets were imported from South America as pet . Over the years , many miss or were released . By 1968 , monk parakeet were found breed in the natural state in 10 states and the numbers have continued to mount ever since .
" Many of them were escaped positron emission tomography , or their owners released them because they could n’t discipline them or they made too much noise – all the understanding mass let pets go , " suppose researcher Stephen Pruett - Jones in astatement . " But many of these specie are utterly happy bread and butter here and they ’ve install populations . Wild parrots are here to stay . "
for go after naturalized parrots across the country , researcher took to historical record , comparing them with data from the Audubon’sChristmas Bird Countand citizen science platformeBirdthat together include bird sightings from 2002 to 2016 . They find oneself more than 118,000 unique observations across intimately 20,000 locations , most normally monk parakeet , Red - crowned Amazons , and the Nanday Parakeet . Other specie include several species of Amazon , Parakeet , and Macaw .
Not every state where these tropic birdie are set up support breeding , but the most concentrated populations in warmer mood like Florida , Texas , and California belike are reproducing and increase their universe give the fact that most species do n’t transmigrate but solidify their established range . Birds found in cold environment , such as the cities of Chicago and New York , are surviving brutal winters by turning to backyard raspberry feeders .
The researchers note that there is no grounds that savage parrot in the US are invading or compete with native wench but monk parakeets build nests that can damage public utility company lines . Regardless , many spate may be on their way to becoming a valuable part of the ecosystem . In fact , many local bird colonies have become somewhat of a mascot to the community in which they live . The red - facedParrots of Telegraph Hillhave become an ikon in San Francisco during their 30 - yr tenure through San Francisco ’s waterfront . It ’s consider there are now more Red - crowned Amazons living in California than their original habitat in Mexico .
" The entire conservation focal point for these species is now on a non - aboriginal , introduced , naturalized population , " Pruett - Jones say . " The selection of the species is most probably go away to come from efforts to salvage it somewhere where it never existed before . "
