Pretty Pollies pick new homes in South East

8:19am Wednesday 21st July 2004

PARROTS from Asia and Africa have become part of local wildlife in the South East, according to a study.

Researchers from the University of Oxford carried out a three-year study and found parrots, such as ringneck parakeets, are now found all over the south east of England and even in parts of London.

They are believed to have escaped from private homes and aviaries and experts say they are now acclimatised to living in the UK, helped by recent milder winters.

The study estimated there could be as many as 20,000 parrots living in England with the biggest concentration in around London and the South East.

A spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said the parakeet population was mainly in west London and the Thames Valley.