A study by Queen Mary University of London has found that the UK’s ring-necked parakeet population was not started by Jimi Hendrix, as urban legend suggests, but by ordinary people releasing their pets. The researchers used a forensic method based on serial crime profiling to track the birds’ population growth and suggested that many people released their birds after sensational reports of fatal “parrot fever” outbreaks in the 1930s and 1950s. The parakeet is native to Africa but is now thriving on five continents.
The great mystery of the UK’s ring-necked parakeet population solved… sort of.
Contrary to urban legend, the invasive parrot species, which is native to Africa but now thriving on five continents, did not begin its takeover of the British Isles when music legend Jimi Hendrix allegedly released a breeding pair (named Adam and Eva) in CarnaStreet in London in 1968.
Nor can we blame the wrap party that followed the filming of “The African Queen” in 1951 or the crash of a plane into an aviary in the 1970s, although these events have long been cited as alleged reasons for the birds’ British presence.
No, according to a study of geographic profiles conducted at Queen Mary University of London, the truth is simpler and much less interesting. The 34 nations now providing a home for non-native birds can thank ordinary people and their intentional and accidental release of parakeets, which can make beautiful pets. After all, in 1961, British residents alone kept 11 million birds of all species as pets, outnumbering cats and dogs.
The researchers, who used a forensic method based on serial crime profiling to track parakeet population growth, said many people likely released their birds after sensational reports of fatal “parrot fever” outbreaks in the 1930s and 1950s.
“It’s easy to imagine (these) headlines leading to a rapid release of pets,” said Sarah Elizabeth Cox, a postgraduate history student at Goldsmiths, University of London. “If you were told you risk being near one, it would be much easier to get it out the window than to destroy it.”
A look at parakeets:
There are 115 parakeet species, belonging to 30 different genera.
While the average life span of a parakeet is six to 10 years, those kept healthy in captivity can live 15 years or more.
Budgerigars or “budgies,” known simply as parakeets in American English, are now found all over the world. They are native to Australia, where they live in large flocks.
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