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Ornithologist Emily Shepard, professor of biosciences at Swansea University said: “Although they appear quite exotic, parakeets are actually very well adapted to European conditions, not just here, but across France, Spain and Italy.
“They thrive in urban and suburban environments. They need people nearby who will either discard or deliberately leave out food for them.”
Prof Shepard added: “They are big, tough birds, who are quite capable of bullying even jackdaws and crows out of the way of feeders, and in areas with plentiful food supplies they can survive sub-zero temperatures if they can put on enough winter fat”.
She explained that although the precise origins of the Swansea family are unknown, they fit the pattern of other UK populations.
“It seems improbable, but even parakeets who have been domesticated in cages for years have the instinct to survive in the wild once they have the opportunity to escape.
“In the 1930s many were released after a scare around so-called ‘parrot flu’. In 1987 some flew off from damaged aviaries after the October hurricane, so it seems logical that a similar event might have taken place during lockdown, when people weren’t able to care for pet birds,” she said.
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