Terror of the Hawk

[linda040899]

http://www.brooklynparrots.com/2005/10/terror-of-hawk.html

Interesting site about parrots that live in Brooklyn, NY.

[mjm8321]

Thanks for posting this Linda...I'll now have a new reason for not doing what I'm supposed to at work! ;)

I just love Quakers!

[linda040899]

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol
Education is never a bad thing, MJ, and you are educating your mind! They do that all the time where I work..... :)

I had a Quaker when I lived in NJ but it's been quite a few yrs since one has lived with me. Bird Bird is a talker where my first Quaker never said a word.

[Janie]

Very interesting article, Linda. I scrolled down and see that there are a couple of books about these birds, something I'd like to read. Thanks for the link!

Now, I have to ask, HOW do they SURVIVE the winter weather????? I've wondered the same thing about the wild parrots in San Francisco since it gets cold there, too.

[Z28Taxman]

Very interesting article, Linda. I scrolled down and see that there are a couple of books about these birds, something I'd like to read. Thanks for the link!

Now, I have to ask, HOW do they SURVIVE the winter weather????? I've wondered the same thing about the wild parrots in San Francisco since it gets cold there, too.

I was reading about Quakers one day. It was actually an article about the ones in Brooklyn that asked just that question. It seems the area where they live in South America (Bolivia I think) is rather mountainous and they've been known to go up above the snow line to find food. So they don't seem to mind cold and snow.

I wish they were legal here. The seem like really neat birds. Seems stupid to ban them here since there are wild ones in NJ, Delaware and New York, and they don't seem to have migrated here. I think the the threat is way overrated. I'd rather have wild quakers around here than the darn eruopean sparrows anyway and starlings anyway.

[Janie]

Thanks for that info. Dave. Makes sense! I like them too and they are also illegal in GA. :( But hey, CONURES aren't! :D

[jknezek]

there are flocks of wild quakers all over south florida. any introduction of a foreign species is to be avoided. I agree the ban is a bit stupid at this point, but if it helps prevent the spread of non-native animals then it is worth trying. the everglades are being damaged every year (primarily by humans) because of the introduction of wild hogs, pythons, iguanas, caymens, king toads, rats and many types of birds. not all cause hardship to local species, but as a rule i'm all for trying as hard as possible to avoid introduction of foreign species.

quakers happen to be extremely hardy and reproduce at extraordinary rates in breeding colonies. i've watched the one near my apartment expand from one nesting colony to four just in the last 4 or 5 months. and that is why states ban them. they are a victim of their own success and therefore the bans will probably increase rather than decrease as more states become ecologically aware and sensitive to foreign species invasions.

as a companion, however, my girlfriend's family has one and i just love the little hen. she's nasty, bitey, territorial, hormonal and downright evil most of the time. but she's a sweetheart if you towel her, take her from the cage, and give her treats. she'll talk and play and lay on her back in your lap. a really great mix between the large and small parrots.

[Z28Taxman]

Quakers have been in New York since 1962 and they're also in New Jersey, Delaware and Ohio. To date there has never been a sighting of a ferral Quaker in Pennsylvania that I know of even thogh we've been surrounded by them for over 40 years. I think the threat is vastly overstated (at least in northern climates where most of the ferral Quakers seem to prefer cities).

The European sparrows (introduced intentionally in the 1850's I believe to make European immigrants feel more at home) are more of a threat to local birds here than quakers. I can't step out my back door withough almost stepping on 30 or 40 of them.

I want a Quaker daggone it! :lol

Besides the Carolina Parakeet is gone (I know that was actually a conure) so we need something to take it's place. Maybe we could just release GCC's instead. :)

[LauraO]

I actually agree with the ban of Quakers especially here in Hawaii. They are very prolific breeders and colonize in a very small space. Intodruced species have dessimated the natural environment here in Hawaii and this includes birds, plants, frogs, etc.

[michael]

I haven't lived in Brooklyn since my teenage years and recall these parrots along the Brooklyn shoreline. They were not very abundant then unlike the gulls and pigeons we seen while island hopping. I used to love abandoned buildings and it was cool to see how all these birds took them over. I would feel right at home seeing one of these guys here. Thanks for the link it brought back some really cool times......Michael N' Goofy

[Angelic vampyre]

I have three of them, a breeding blue pair and Charlie my green guy i am handrasing. They are banned in WA but then again African Greys are banned over there! I just love the little guys

[AndreaSpike]

Share with you, glad to come to this forum

[victoria stiles]

In some places, Quaker parrots are illegal,States in which they are illegal include California, Tennessee, Kentucky, Wyoming, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Hawaii. There are many Quaker parrots living in Florida.