THEY are a colourful *addition to England’s green and pleasant land, but these exotic parakeets now face an uncertain future.

A recent explosion in their numbers has prompted the Government to examine whether the visitors pose a threat to our native species.

But anyone wondering how the flamboyant birds came to breed in Britain could find a surprising explanation in the classic Hollywood movie The African Queen.

The 1951 movie, starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, was filmed at Shepperton studios in surburban  Surrey.

The film-makers were charged with the task of re-creating the jungles of east Africa and a variety of exotic animals, including rose-ringed parakeets, were shipped in and kept on the set.

But an entire flock of 20 birds escaped from an aviary overnight – and then bred to create the pack that exists today.
However, there are other explanations for how the parakeets came to be thousands of miles from their native lands of sub-Saharan Africa and India.
One urban myth is that they are the lasting legacy of late rock star Jimi Hendrix.

The singer apparently released a pair of the – clearly very amorous – parakeets as a symbol of peace in London’s swinging Carnaby Street in the Sixties.

A more pedestrian explanation is that some of the birds escaped from a container at Heathrow airport where they were being quarantined.

The number of parakeets in Britain has rocketed in recent years, with a 30 per cent increase in London alone last year.

There have been concerns that the gregarious birds could pose problems for indigenous species like starlings and sparrows, prompting the Government’s wide-ranging study into non-native species.
Ecologists say the rise in population could justify taking “immediate action”, even though the effect of their presence is not yet known.

But the nation’s bird lovers have vowed to contest any cull.

Gary Wilcox, founder of charity Birdline UK Parrot Rescue, said: “To shoot or poison these beautiful creatures would be very cruel. They have lived here for 40 years and this is their home as much as it is home to any other species.”

Ecologist and author Tony Drakeford lives close to Bushy Park in south-west London where the number of birds has rocketed in the past year.

He said: “They are very pretty and exotic birds but are having a serious impact on our woodland tree-crevice nesters.

“There is no rightful place of ecological niche for these birds.

“Something needs to be done with immediate effect but the options are complicated.

“In the past we have managed to control the rapid growth of other wild animals.

“With Canada geese we pricked the eggs to prevent offspring and with grey squirrels we dished out the birth-control pill. But these solutions just won’t work for the parakeet. There will be a tremendous outcry if we cull them but it may be our only hope.”

The Department for Environ-ment, Food and Rural Affairs wants to determine whether native birds are at risk from parakeets, which are growing in number and are now in the top 20 of the most-spotted birds in Britain.

Andre Farrar, spokesman for the RSPB, said: “We are not calling for a cull. We have no evidence of any impact on native species. It’s mainly plants causing these problems but also animals like grey squirrels.”

A Defra spokesman confirmed the Central Science Laboratory was looking at the effects of parakeets on indigenous bird populations.

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/2501