Wild birds don't have foot injuries...

["Philip Veerman" <>]

Ah Peter,

You ask presumably with a bit of sarcasm, "Inverting the logic, does this mean that the immaculate Princess Parrot in Stirling must therefore (my emphasis) be a natural vagrant?" No, these are independent events and it doesn't actually mean or prove anything. The observation of the injury to this Grey-headed Lapwing does however give a little pause for thought that this Grey-headed Lapwing could have had some form of human assistance to get here. Given that it was found in SE Australia, rather than north Australia, I still think that highly likely, even if unintended. You may have seen the recent discussion about the Sunbird that appeared in Sydney. There was a very plausible explanation offered that the bird probably entered a banana freight truck in north Qld (they do go in houses and garages etc to search for nest sites) and it got locked in and only got out when the truck was opened in Sydney. The Princess Parrot is a fairly common aviary bird yet within Australia it is not the usual habit here to tie strings around the legs of pet parrots.  

 

Philip