Anne wrote
> The thought of Peach Faced (or any other) Love Birds becoming another
> feral pest has worried me for some time. They are so popular and such
> prolific breeders. Do any birding-aus people know of established
> breeding pairs in the wild?
> Anne
My daughter had a pair of lovebirds for years and is in the habit
of keeping them out on the balcony during the day time. Quite
literally we lost count of the number of poor exausted escapees
attracted by their calls and due to their invariably exausted condition
easily caught with the aid of a tea towel or even carried inside on
top of the cage such was the state they were in. Thankfully all recovered
after a drink and a feed. From time to time one of the original pair
would reach their ' use by date ' but replacements were never far
away. She still has two birds but goodness knows how many reincarnations
they have undergone over the years.
Judging by the numbers encountered over the years it would appear that Anne
has
more than enough grounds for concern. One observation however. The
birds recaptured were all in a poor condition to make it on their own
in the wild after the easy life of continual room service, ( should
that be cage service ) and most would have provided ridiculously easy
prey to cats etc.
Ron Hughes
Brisbane +1000
Queensland, Australia
|
