wrote:
>
> Anthea Fleming suggests including common escapes in field guides.
>
> What is "common" ? Common Pheasant and Mute Swan appear in most
> guides.
> The Red Bishop/Grenadier Weaver Euplectes orix used to be in but is
> absent from Pizzey and Knight because the breeding colonies have gone.
>
> I've fond memories of the latter, looking like a giant pink bumblebee
> dressed up for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, heading over reed beds
> in
> NW London. It wasn't in the UK field guides and neither were the
> Crimson
> Rosellas or Cockatiels I saw passing my London office window. The
> criterion seemed to be that a species had become feral, ie. was
> breeding. Thus most escapes provided an excellent opportunity to check
> one's field note and library skills.
>
> So what (non-Australian) "common escapes" are missing ? I'd like to
> see
> a "SHOOT THEM" page in field guides with notes on Barbary Doves and
> Ring-necked Parakeets. Are there any other candidates ? Perhaps
> Red-whiskered Bulbul should be added to the "SHOOT THEM" page because
> of
> its potential spread when global warming gets going (helped by most
> political parties' support of continuing low energy prices).
>
> Michael Norris
When it comes to a SHOOT THEM list, absolute top ranking should be given
to feral Mallards - look what they've done to the Black/Grey duck in New
Zealand. The general public keeps releasing them and their domestic
derivatives on every suburban park, and complains loudly if any action
taken against the brutes. At least Royal Melbourne Botanic Gardens has a
sustained anti-mallard policy.
Anthea Fleming
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