Ring-necked Parakeets (c) The Guardian

This Birding Life: the Best of the Guardian's Birdwatch by Stephen Moss is published by Aurum Press, priced £12.99
ISBN: 1845131800

Parakeets flee the scrum
Stephen Moss
Wednesday October 18, 2006
The Guardian

Lost: 6,000 parakeets. If found, please contact Esher rugby club. It shouldn't really be possible for thousands of noisy, green birds to vanish into thin air, but sometime earlier this month they did so. Every evening for the past decade, flocks of ring-necked parakeets have gathered to roost for the night in poplar trees next to a rugby pitch in the Surrey suburbs. Then, a couple of weeks ago, staff at the club noticed something odd: they could no longer hear the characteristic high-pitched screeching of the birds. They had, quite simply, disappeared.

... the recent population surge may explain the parakeets' vanishing act. In their native India, when roosts reach a critical mass they break up, with the birds seeking new places to spend the night. So if you have noticed a few thousand parakeets arriving each evening near you, please get in touch with Esher rugby club - they would like to know that their birds have gone to a good home.

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See also:
http://environment.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,,1875410,00.html

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/family/story/0,,1867763,00.html

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