Invasion of the Parakeets

The Villa Borghese in Rome...Corso Venezia in Milan...the broadwalk in Naples. You'd think you were visiting a rain forest and not some of Italy's most impressive cities. The fact is, not only in Italy but also in many other large cities in Europe, a variety of parakeets and other exotic birds including a the Toucan have made new homes far from their native surroundings.

According to an article in the 8 May edition of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica (www.larepubblica.it) these birds didn't maneuver some long-distance voyage over the ocean or traversed the desert. Nope, these are the many offspring of parents who flew the coop. Birds that were bought and kept in a cage only to escape or worse -- be discarded by their bored or un-attentive owners. Faced with the sudden prospect of freedom, these parakeets discovered a whole new world: one where there was plenty of food, pretty decent weather and for the most part -- lots of tree and parks. Or at least roof tops and church steeples.

In Italy, researchers have tracked at least three species of parakeet: the collared parakeet (Psittacula krameri), the Monaco parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) and the Blue Amazon (Amazona aestiva).

According to an article in Corriere della Sera (www.corrieredellasera.it), the collared parakeet is the most common -- turning up in Genova, Rome, Naples, Lecce, Catania and Palermo. The Monaco seems to enjoy the north of Italy. Turning up in Udine, Trieste, Verona, Bergamo but rarely farther South of Rome.

I spent six years in Naples and sure enough, in Naples' biggest park -- the Parco Communale -- you can't miss all the parakeets flying around the palm trees that line the sidewalks and ponds.

For the most part, this over-abundance of parakeets has been met with a smile. But in other parts of Europe all these parakeets are being frowned on. According to La Repubblica, in London's Royal Botanical Gardens for example, the parakeet population has been fighting with the other local species of birds over territory and many of the Garden's local birds are flying south. It makes for great study if you're a scientist, but it's not a good thing for the birds of the RBG.

Similar problems have turned up in the parks of Amsterdam, Barcelona and Istanbul.

Animal expert Alessandro Andreotti feels that the multiplication of the parakeets can throw the "eco-equilibrium" out of whack. Quoted in La Repubblica, Andreotti remarked, "...In Rome the problem is way beyond what we can control because we're past the point of having just a few parakeets. But in Genova for example, the problem is manageable. The parakeet population hasn't yet exploded. But for every year we ignore it it's going to get worse..."

Andreotti went on to say that in addition to the parakeets causing damage and carrying germs, the biggest impact is the effect the parakeet has on other species of birds. Similar to what's happening in London, parakeets are territorial and once they have found a territory they enjoy, they don't want to give it up.

Much to the dismay of the sparrows and pigeons.