# What's the origin of the wild parrots in southern CA? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 30, 2015, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419 "2015-08-30T19:33:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/1 "2015-08-30T19:33:14Z")
I grew up in Ocean Beach, a little hippie-ish neighborhood right on the coast in San Diego. And so I grew up with wild parrots. They’re all over the place down there. They’re visually distinctive from the pigeons and gulls and pelicans that are native to the region. They’re _loud_ - especially at sunrise and sunset. And they’re absent from most of the rest of San Diego - they certainly don’t venture more than a few miles inland. The legend in OB, that I heard when I was little, was that at some point in decades past there had been a pet shop in the neighborhood that caught fire, and the owner and/or clerk decided to free the birds from their cages to save them, and that the parrots for some reason thrived in the Mediterranean climate of OB and became fruitful and multiplied. That almost certainly has to be false - there’s no way a couple parrots in a single store could have created a viable breeding population, and from what I’ve read, there are parrot colonies up and down the CA coastline, far beyond my little neck of the woods, which certainly aren’t native to the region and which would beggar belief if they all originated from a single incident. Does anyone know if there’s ever been a study done into the origins of these birds? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/2 "2015-08-30T19:39:44Z")
Just to add to the OP, there is a famous parrot flock in San Francisco. [The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_Parrots_of_Telegraph_Hill) ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/3 "2015-08-30T19:41:15Z")
There are wild populations of parrots all over the place. Telegraph Hill in San Francisco and my town, Santa Barbara come to mind. I’m pretty sure they are the result of released and/or escaped pets. No burned down pet store necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/4 "2015-08-30T19:42:56Z")
Which species? California has [thirteen species of parrots](http://www.californiaparrotproject.org/parrot_pages.html) with free-flying populations. The links give the history of each population. According to [this site:](http://californiaparrots.us/) > [@](#): > > Rumor has it that decades ago, an exotic bird smuggling ring was surprised and just as the authorities were ready to pounce, the wild-caught birds were freed. Another rumor speaks of firefighters responding to a call in a pet shop and rather than see the birds perish, the firefighters set them free. Though Urban Legends have circulated for more than 30 years, there are some that believe the wild parrots may have come here on their own through normal exploration. Others believe they are all escaped pets. Not true! > > The wild parrots flying free in Southern California today are descendants of wild-caught parrots who were imported into the United States before importation was banned and somehow either escaped or were released intentionally. > > … > > Wild parrots have been documented in Southern California since the 1960s and there is strong evidence to suggest there may have been wild parrots as far back as the 1940s. One thing is certain – several events have contributed to the status and distribution of wild parrots in California today. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/5 "2015-08-30T19:43:20Z")
[Escaped wild parrots](http://californiaparrots.us/) back before there were import restrictions. Ninja’ed by 22 seconds! ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/6 "2015-08-30T19:58:43Z")
Hell, in Carmel about 20 years ago I heard a cry and saw one of those Red Macaws sitting on a telephone line. That species isn’t listed on the above link but it sure looked at home. And growing up in LA in the 70s we used to have a flock of some sort - I thought it might be peach-front conures at the time - that came through our backyard every now and again. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/7 "2015-08-30T20:09:24Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Which species? From your site, I’d say “Red-crowned Parrot (_Amazona viridigenalis_),” though IANAO. I’ve seen them as far inland as Clairemont, but more in Point Loma / Old Town. Interesting that it’s not actually terribly far from the region they’re indigenous to. I’ve seen similar parrots in West L.A., but several of those species look similar and I’m not as certain. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/8 "2015-08-30T20:14:02Z")
There are several species of parrot native to northern Mexico, so I’m not at all surprised to see them around this area. One good tropical storm in the Sea of Cortez and any number of birds could end up in Phoenix. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/9 "2015-08-30T21:43:30Z")
There actually DID used to be a native species of parrot in the United States, the [Carolina parakeet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_parakeet). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/10 "2015-08-30T21:56:57Z")
I saw a Falcon in San Jose catch and eat one. They turned the falcon-cam away, so the school kids wouldn’t see it. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/11 "2015-08-30T22:00:17Z")
There’s some parakeet colonies in London > **[Feral parakeets in Great Britain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_parakeets)** > > Feral parakeets in Great Britain are wild-living, non-native parakeets that are an introduced species into Great Britain. The population mainly consists of ring-necked parakeets (Psittacula krameri), a non-migratory species of bird native to Africa and the Indian Subcontinent, with a few, small breeding populations of monk parakeets, and other occasional escaped cage birds. The origins of these birds are subject of speculation, but they are generally thought to have bred from birds that escaped f... The origin stories are speculative, although it would be genuinely great if Jimi Hendrix was really somehow responsible 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/12 "2015-08-30T22:03:20Z")
In the 70s & 80s there was a good-sized colony of them in the Arcadia / Monrovia / San Marino area of eastern LA county. There were many distinct flocks. What species they were and how they got there was a mystery to everyone I talked to then. I have no idea when they arrived or whether they’re still going strong. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/13 "2015-08-30T22:03:38Z")
Note that parrots live a really long time\*. So even if a male escaped and several years later a female escaped, a breeding pair could ensue. \*E.g., the Red-lored amazon has an average life span of 80 years. If you get one of these, it could outlive you. Many people can’t keep parrots for such a long time, so unfortunately they sometimes get released. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/14 "2015-08-31T00:38:44Z")
KPBS has a show about interesting stories in San Diego. Last week they has a show about the Parrots of OB (Ocean Beach). They interviewed park Ranger who tried to track down the origin of the parrot flock. He heard rumors of a pet shop that caught fire and bird were released. He went through news paper archives and could not find anything. There were a few more rumors like that but he did not find anything he could substantiate. I found a link to the show. > **[Ken Kramer's About San Diego | Wild Parrots of Ocean Beach | Season 1 | KPBS](https://video.kpbs.org/video/ken-kramers-about-san-diego-wild-parrots-ocean-beach/)** > > Hundreds of wild parrots have made Ocean Beach & Pt. Loma home. Where did they come from? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/15 "2015-08-31T00:55:53Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I grew up in Ocean Beach, a little hippie-ish neighborhood right on the coast in San Diego. And so I grew up with wild parrots. They’re all over the place down there. They’re visually distinctive from the pigeons and gulls and pelicans that are native to the region. They’re _loud_ - especially at sunrise and sunset. And they’re absent from most of the rest of San Diego - they certainly don’t venture more than a few miles inland. I grew up in Ocean Beach, too. My understanding is what **gazpacho** notes from the TV show: No one knows for sure. However, it’s not true that they don’t venture inland. Last year I noticed a huge flock that roosts near the intersection of University and La Mesa Blvd. in La Mesa, which must be at least 10 miles inland. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/16 "2015-08-31T01:37:55Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > In the 70s & 80s there was a good-sized colony of them in the Arcadia / Monrovia / San Marino area of eastern LA county. There were many distinct flocks. > > What species they were and how they got there was a mystery to everyone I talked to then. I have no idea when they arrived or whether they’re still going strong. I’m in Alhambra - they are here and still going strong. > [@guizot](#): > > I grew up in Ocean Beach, too. My understanding is what **gazpacho** notes from the TV show: No one knows for sure. > > However, it’s not true that they don’t venture inland. Last year I noticed a huge flock that roosts near the intersection of University and La Mesa Blvd. in La Mesa, which must be at least 10 miles inland. There’s also a flock all the way in Riverside, which is hella inland. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/17 "2015-08-31T01:38:41Z")
> [@Darryl\_Lict](#): > > There are wild populations of parrots all over the place. Telegraph Hill in San Francisco and my town, Santa Barbara come to mind. Not to mention [Edgewater](http://edgewaterparrots.com/), New Jersey. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/18 "2015-08-31T02:01:37Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > In the 70s & 80s there was a good-sized colony of them in the Arcadia / Monrovia / San Marino area of eastern LA county. There were many distinct flocks. > > What species they were and how they got there was a mystery to everyone I talked to then. I have no idea when they arrived or whether they’re still going strong. I lived in Sierra Madre in that period, and saw many green parrots in the trees and on telephone wires. They were very loud as I recall. I assumed they originated from the nearby Arboretum in Arcadia, which had many exotic birds in residence. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/19 "2015-08-31T03:28:54Z")
I live in Austin where we have colonies of monk parakeets which are basically large green parrots. I took some pictures and posted them to my Flickr account. A day or so later, I was contacted by the City Parrots group who wanted to link my pictures. Apparently, there are large colonies of parrots living in cities. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419/20 "2015-08-31T03:39:26Z")
Damn, there are parrots everywhere. It’s a conspiracy, I think, and I fear they are planning to stage a coop. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-wild-parrots-in-southern-ca/729419.md?page=2)