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Escapee vs Wild bird

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Subject: Escapee vs Wild bird
From: "Edwin Vella" <>
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 10:11:03 +1000
It can be difficult at times though to judge whether a wild bird is infact an aviary escapee and vice versa. A combination of factors may need to be considered - obviously location, proximity to suburban areas, behaviour etc.
 
Last year we had a Red-capped Parrot hanging around our area (in western Sydney) for quite some time. It behaved very much like some of the wild Red-cap's I often encountered in WA (though I eventually had great views of them in WA). This escapee! bird was very hard to approach and every time I got within a few metres when it did perch in a tree, it would then take off miles away and it certainly flew like a wild bird. The only time I had good views of this escapee was when it was feeding in our backyard and I was looking at it through the window. We also had at the time a Pale-headed Rosella hanging about the local Eastern Rosella population and it too behaved like a wild bird.
 
One of the most common escapees I frequently encounter are Cockatiels. One or two I saw in the Barrington Tops area and because of the time of drought and being far away from suburbia, I thought this would be a wild bird (only about 200km east of its normal range). One bird a Windsor Downs (western Sydney) during drought was alos a ? 
 
A record of 3 Imm. Superb Parrots at McGraths Hills (western Sydney) could have been wild birds as well!  
 
But many escapee's do indeed act fairly tame and eventually perish.
 
 
Edwin
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