Pathway to Citizenship
Mar 27, 2021 04:08:49 #
After being trafficked all the way from southwest Africa, Rosy-faced Lovebirds (Agapornis roseicollis) have finally established a breeding population in central Arizona. Although they are classified as historically invasive, they are now officially regarded as feral residents of Arizona’s Maricopa County and are so listed in prominent bird guides and academic inventories.
Some thirty years ago, on the northern edge of Phoenix, a few Rosy-faced Lovebirds along with a substantial collection of other tropical species were jointly imprisoned in a large outdoor aviary. One night, when the large dome of netting that confined them was violently ripped away by a fierce monsoon-driven storm, these birds were launched en masse into an alien darkness. For a few months thereafter, bird watchers in the parks and gardens of Phoenix, reported a flurry of exotic sightings. Sadly, as the Sonoran summer wore on and heated up, these encounters became infrequent and then rare; assumed to be the result of occasional escapes from someone's pet shop bird cage. However, through the coming winter it was noticed that these few sightings almost always involved the same small, rosy-faced, parrots.
When spring arrived, individual sightings became sightings of whole flocks! --an observation that suggested serious research which quickly revealed that the little parrot’s immediate forebears had evolved in and been pirated away from southwestern Africa, a place where seasons and habitats are much the same as those surrounding the City of Phoenix.
So it is that after a period of crated and caged purgatory, Rosy-faced Lovebirds, somehow swapped Namibia for Arizona and found themselves naturalized inhabitants of a distant world that welcomes them..
Some thirty years ago, on the northern edge of Phoenix, a few Rosy-faced Lovebirds along with a substantial collection of other tropical species were jointly imprisoned in a large outdoor aviary. One night, when the large dome of netting that confined them was violently ripped away by a fierce monsoon-driven storm, these birds were launched en masse into an alien darkness. For a few months thereafter, bird watchers in the parks and gardens of Phoenix, reported a flurry of exotic sightings. Sadly, as the Sonoran summer wore on and heated up, these encounters became infrequent and then rare; assumed to be the result of occasional escapes from someone's pet shop bird cage. However, through the coming winter it was noticed that these few sightings almost always involved the same small, rosy-faced, parrots.
When spring arrived, individual sightings became sightings of whole flocks! --an observation that suggested serious research which quickly revealed that the little parrot’s immediate forebears had evolved in and been pirated away from southwestern Africa, a place where seasons and habitats are much the same as those surrounding the City of Phoenix.
So it is that after a period of crated and caged purgatory, Rosy-faced Lovebirds, somehow swapped Namibia for Arizona and found themselves naturalized inhabitants of a distant world that welcomes them..
Mar 27, 2021 04:41:03 #
Mar 27, 2021 06:07:59 #
bobforman
Loc: Anacortes, Washington State
Interesting narrative. Are they migratory and are they spreading beyond central AZ?
BTW, in northern Puget Sound we had something similar happen but with Atlantic Salmon escaping en mass from a fish farm that suffered a failure in their nets. Experts vary on the results as the non-natives intermingle with the native chinook and coho. Good or bad? Jury is still out.
BTW, in northern Puget Sound we had something similar happen but with Atlantic Salmon escaping en mass from a fish farm that suffered a failure in their nets. Experts vary on the results as the non-natives intermingle with the native chinook and coho. Good or bad? Jury is still out.
Mar 27, 2021 06:35:59 #
Mar 27, 2021 06:48:25 #
optic wrote:
After being trafficked all the way from southwest ... (show quote)
Nice photo! Are they small parrots? They look like it.
Mar 27, 2021 07:28:33 #
Maybe I’ll get some shot of them next spring, I’ll be around sometime in February or March
Mar 27, 2021 07:36:26 #
Sounds like a great outcome for the birds, bird watchers, and photographers! Nice post!
---
---
Mar 27, 2021 20:46:42 #
Mar 27, 2021 21:21:13 #
Thanks, Bob:
The Rosy-faced Lovebirds seem pretty well limited to PHX and the suburbs --lots of trees, food, good cover and water. I suspect that they will eventually spread into the riparian areas of the three local rivers but it will take them a long time. Between 2002 and 4, I served on an emergency commission called together to deal with the market crash that, due to the farmed salmon industry, devastated the Alaska fishery. I learned that there is almost nothing good about farmed salmon --particularly when Atlantic salmon are involved. I fear that the damaging consequences of this development will negatively effect both the fish and the people who catch and consume them for generations to come..
The Rosy-faced Lovebirds seem pretty well limited to PHX and the suburbs --lots of trees, food, good cover and water. I suspect that they will eventually spread into the riparian areas of the three local rivers but it will take them a long time. Between 2002 and 4, I served on an emergency commission called together to deal with the market crash that, due to the farmed salmon industry, devastated the Alaska fishery. I learned that there is almost nothing good about farmed salmon --particularly when Atlantic salmon are involved. I fear that the damaging consequences of this development will negatively effect both the fish and the people who catch and consume them for generations to come..
Mar 27, 2021 21:27:16 #
Thanks, Mike:
It's one of a limited number of good things that are going on with the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.
It's one of a limited number of good things that are going on with the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.
Mar 27, 2021 21:42:23 #
Thanks, rmm:
Lovebirds are in a genus (Agapornis) of the parrot family (Psittaculidae). The Rosy-faces (A. roseicollis) are one of a couple of species. In english, YES. they are parrots....
Lovebirds are in a genus (Agapornis) of the parrot family (Psittaculidae). The Rosy-faces (A. roseicollis) are one of a couple of species. In english, YES. they are parrots....
Mar 27, 2021 21:58:33 #
Thanks, Fotoserj :
It's a good time.
Look for them in parks and one of local bird preserves. They travel in small flocks. If you see one, there are more. They like leafy cover and are fond of palm fronds for nesting. As they are infamous squeakers, you may hear them before you see them.
It's a good time.
Look for them in parks and one of local bird preserves. They travel in small flocks. If you see one, there are more. They like leafy cover and are fond of palm fronds for nesting. As they are infamous squeakers, you may hear them before you see them.
Mar 27, 2021 22:00:45 #
Mar 28, 2021 08:13:04 #
Mar 28, 2021 10:18:10 #
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.