Magic Minute London’s Amazing Parrots
MAGIC MINUTE // In 2001, I was wandering through the magnificent expanses of London’s Hyde Park when I stopped in wonder.
A flash of bright green parrots whizzed over me and settled noisily in a big oak tree.
‘Parrots,’ I thought, ‘how strange. What on earth are they doing here in England?’
But there they were, happily squawking and flitting around.
Now, coming from Australia, where we have everything from budgerigars to majestic king parrots, I knew what a parrot looked like.
What’s more, I’d been in the park in 1976, and there were none there then. So, where did they come from?
Intrigued, I discovered they’re ring-necked parakeets.
They’d either been released or escaped from bird fanciers over the past few decades, and acclimatized themselves well.
Since the late 1900s, they began appearing in numbers in London’s extensive parks and gardens.
These tropical birds are now a permanent part of the scenery, a great tourist attraction, everybody’s friend, and love being hand-fed by people.
Remarkable!
Check them out when you’re in London next. I’m Laurie Smale… Till my next Magic Minute.
I’m Laurie Smale… Till my next Magic Minute.🪄
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