Green tails flicker among the maple branches. Loud cries at dawn awaken residents of residential districts. Parrots in the city? Yes, not in a pet store, not in a cage on the balcony, but wild, free, noisy flocks. For Moscow, London, Barcelona, or Tokyo, this is no longer an exoticism, but an everyday occurrence. Dozens of parrot species have colonized megacities around the world. How did they come to our latitudes? How do they survive in winter? And most importantly — should we be happy about such neighbors? Where did the wild parrots in the cities come from Most of the parrots living in European and Asian cities are descendants of escapees. Someone flew out an open window, someone was released by the owner, someone lucky escaped during transportation. In the tropics, they would not survive without a flock. But in the city, with many feeders, greenery, and heat pipes, a niche was found. The first documented case was the parrots of Kramer in London. In the 1970s, a pair of escaped birds settled in the southwest of the city. Now there are more than 30,000 individuals of this species living in London. In Moscow, the first parrots appeared in the 2010s, and now there are several hundred. In Madrid, Barcelona, and Lisbon, parrots have become as much a part of the landscape as pigeons. The main urban species are Kramer's ringed parrots (green, with a red beak and a black collar on the throat of males) and monk parrots (ash-green, with a bib-like chest). How do parrots survive in a temperate climate It seems that a tropical bird in Moscow or London would die in winter. But parrots are smarter than we think. Firstly, they choose a microclimate. They nest in parks near heat pipes, on rooftops, under shopping center roofs. Outside, minus ten, but under the roof, plus five. Secondly, they gather in large flocks and sleep closely together, warming each other. Thirdly, they change their diet. In the summer, they eat fruits, berries, seeds. In winter, they switch to bird feeders ... Read more