SQUAWKING TALL
British parakeets boom by 1,455% as native birds hit
WHO’S a pretty popular boy then? Parakeets are flying high with a 1,455% rise in two decades.
The tropical parrots are booming here while many native birds suffer. There are 8,600 breeding pairs of ring-necked parakeets, 15 times more than in 1995, says the annual Breeding Bird Survey.
The parrots have been pets since the Victorian era, but have only bred in the wild since the late-1960s, learning to cope with cold winters.
Many British birds are doing less well, with turtle doves down 94%, willow tits by 80% and marsh tits by 41%. Sarah Harris, of the British Trust for Ornithology, said: “Suitability of woodlands, dry summers and canopy closure contributed to this.”