Headlines

Pet Parrots Take to the Wild in 23 States

25 species have taken hold in areas ranging from California to New York.

Published

5 years ago

May 30, 2019

PETS+ Staff

The monk parakeet has established breeding populations in the U.S.

Parrot species that previously lived in the U.S. only as pets have taken to the wild in 23 states, National Geographic reports.

Twenty-five species have established breeding populations in locations ranging from California to Florida to New York. That’s according to research recently published in the Journal of Ornithology.

The three most common species are the monk parakeet, the nanday parakeet and the red-crowned Amazon.

The red-crowned Amazon is, in fact, now more plentiful in California than in its original habitat of Mexico.

That may be a good thing for the species, which is endangered due to habitat loss as well as trapping.

“Its establishment in the U.S. could save the species, and perhaps provide birds for reintroduction to the ancestral range if conditions improve there,” Ian Newton of the UK-based Centre for Ecology and Hydrology said, according to National Geographic. He was not involved in the research.

Read more at National Geographic

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