Absolutely gorgeous and extremely smart creatures. They generally bond with one care giver and when that person dies it really is a traumatic event for the bird.
Birds that are traumatized pick out their feathers and look terrible. You can tell from the videos of their birds that they are well looked after.
This organization (and those like it) are fantastic!
Oh yes, finally something I can comment on!
I’m a wildlife veterinarian, parrots were always my favourite animals and growing up I wanted to become a “parrot vet”.
Throughout my studies and work experience I discovered so many heartbreaking things about these animals that instead I chose to dedicate myself to the wild.
The parrot crisis is much bigger than what the article says. We are living a period where parrots are struggling to survive in their native range, we are getting more knowledge on how sick they get in captivity (some parrots literally self-mutilate for lack of stimulation) and we are getting bigger and bigger colonies of invasive species (mostly monk and ring neck parakeet) throughout the US and the EU. I’ve actually been working on a documentary on this topic for the past two years, if you are interested I can share it when I’m done. In the meantime I suggest you reaching out to
It is recommended:
a) because you are rehoming an animal that probably went trough a lot and, hopefully, giving them the love they deserve.
b) taking care of a parrot properly is very difficult, hence a lot of people give them to sanctuaries that are full to the brim
c) decreasing the demand of these species. Both their decrease in their native range and their presence in non native ranges is, even now, caused by the demand of them as pets. Poaching in the Central and Southern America is incredibly high (in certain areas of Honduras is 100% for example) and they are poached to be sold to middlemen that will import them to the rest of the world.
Now, since CITES, it’s difficult to find poached animals in NA and EU, but definitely not impossible. The main market is Asia, where they can be sold locally or then transferred to the west.
At the same time, aviaries or “parrot mills” (some people call them like that) are the only reason why we have invasive parrots. If a couple of non native species get released by a distracted owners, the couple just ends up dying because they are not used to the environment. If a stock of hundreds or even thousands of animals of the same species escape an aviary they will first become a colony, then an invasive species. This phenomenon is called propagule pressure.
Invasive species destabilise the natural balance, and invasive species of parrots are stealing nesting sites of owls and bats already.
This is why we should at all cost, decrease the demand of them.
Both, if you live in NA you’ll probably struggle to find a poached one. But your theoretical demand puts a price tag on the few remaining wild ones and increases the presence of breeders that most of the time don’t care about the health of the individual they are raising and definitely don’t care about their local environment.
Even from a sanitary perspective, oh gosh, I could go on for hours.
Psittacosis, pbfd, avian influenza…
Just please, if you want a pet and you want to buy it “brand new”, buy a dog or a cat
I mean to a lot of people a parrot isn't much of a step below human due to their extraordinary intelligence. There are a considerable number of people that if they were trolley problemed against a parrot I would likely save the parrot.
We captured them against their will and put them into an artificial environment where they can't even survive without direct constant human help and they live for many decades and have a high emotional intelligence, the least we can do is care for them half decently.
Ngarritj, a Yolngu speaking corella (small parrot) from Elcho Island in Northern Territory Australia, cannot change a thing happening to Ukranians, but might spark up your day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbSxc6Y1aVA
Crises, suffering, and people trying to help are no less valid just because they are juxtaposed with greater crises, suffering, and people trying to help.
Consider that enough users of this site voted for this article to get it on the front page. Clearly the story resonates with enough of them. No need to say basically “what you care about is worthless”, it’s easy just to go on your way if you are not interested.
In the northeastern towns of la county there entire flocks of wild parrots flying around, that are escaped or freed pet parrots or descendants from such pet parrots.
I guess parrots would not survive in the wild in canada, but if you have parrot you can no longer care for, maybe you could consider releasing it in the la foothills. He will have friends there.
Maybe is the key word here. I am not a parrot expert.
No, the vast majority of parrots released into the wild will just die a terrible death. They don't have a flock to live with and don't know how to survive. It's like if you took a bunch of TikTok influencers and threw them into a random forest completely without any support or help. Some will figure it out, but most would not, even if the weather won't kill them right away, they'll eat the wrong thing, drink the wrong thing, or not know how to protect themselves from other animals.
Apparently, they actually have a whole hit "reality" show that does it without fatalities; "Naked and Afraid". But they get training, and have an "out" back into civilisation.
So I can completely imagine they---the poor hapless tiktok influencers---meeting the unfortunate captive parrot's fate, if suddenly sent out into the maw of the wild, without any warning, preparation, or way back to second dibs at a home.
Entirely missing the point, which is not that they in general can't survive, but that large proportions of animals who have grown up in captivity won't survive if just dumped out in the wild.
How many there are in absolute numbers I don't know, but your depiction of all parrots being too stupid to live in the wild is also incorrect. And other animals die too all of the time, so that is not a good assessment.
London has a massive population of feral parakeets, they can survive quite far north of the weather is mild. London is basically an urban forest so that does help.
I have lots of them showing up outside my office window... E.g. [1]
But the occasional survival eventually leading to a breeding population doesn't mean the odds of survival for released/escaped birds who have grown up in captivity isn't really low.
Yeah, the explosion in numbers has been rapid, and they hang out in groups and can be real bullies to other birds so they'll definitely have an impact.
On the upside, they're also increasingly supplementing the food supply for peregrine falcons in London (they're apparently easier targets than the pigeons...
The parakeets have reached Birmingham as well. Often seen in Canon Hill park, Highbury park or Yardley Old Village around the church. Always brightens my day.
Lol please don't release random parrots. Even if they happen to be the species common in LA, if they aren't members of the wild flock they might get bullied.
You never release exotic pets to the wild. Isn't that common knowledge by now? If you can no longer care for an animal bring it to the vet to get it euthanized.
Did you ask the bird whether it wants to be nuked by you - or, by proxy, the vet - here? I don't call murder "euthanization" - that is just propaganda to sell to yourself that you have the right to decide who lives and who does not.
Releasing it is just murder by neglect so people don't feel bad about themself that they actually killed their pet just because "they can't care" for it anymore aka they don't want to deal with the minor inconvenience of caring for a pet anymore. Or worse they become a pest that wipes out whole local ecosystems.
Absolutely gorgeous and extremely smart creatures. They generally bond with one care giver and when that person dies it really is a traumatic event for the bird.
Birds that are traumatized pick out their feathers and look terrible. You can tell from the videos of their birds that they are well looked after.
This organization (and those like it) are fantastic!
[flagged]
Parrots and similar birds are awesome, and crazy intelligent. Seriously, watch this lil guy straight-up browsing YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_b8kWYvGkI , or this one, so awesome haha https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZSNhJcKFf4 , probably my favorite video ever of a bird
Im realizing that those birds are more focused and disciplined than most children Ive observed browsing youtube
That's really cool! I've never seen those before.
Has anyone ever set up the parrot equivalent of Chatroulette so parrots can interact with each other remotely?
Yes: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-taught-...
I love this so much! Thank you!
Oh yes, finally something I can comment on! I’m a wildlife veterinarian, parrots were always my favourite animals and growing up I wanted to become a “parrot vet”. Throughout my studies and work experience I discovered so many heartbreaking things about these animals that instead I chose to dedicate myself to the wild. The parrot crisis is much bigger than what the article says. We are living a period where parrots are struggling to survive in their native range, we are getting more knowledge on how sick they get in captivity (some parrots literally self-mutilate for lack of stimulation) and we are getting bigger and bigger colonies of invasive species (mostly monk and ring neck parakeet) throughout the US and the EU. I’ve actually been working on a documentary on this topic for the past two years, if you are interested I can share it when I’m done. In the meantime I suggest you reaching out to
https://www.allianceforparrots.org/
Why does it advise to buy from a sanctuary instead of a shop?
It is recommended: a) because you are rehoming an animal that probably went trough a lot and, hopefully, giving them the love they deserve. b) taking care of a parrot properly is very difficult, hence a lot of people give them to sanctuaries that are full to the brim c) decreasing the demand of these species. Both their decrease in their native range and their presence in non native ranges is, even now, caused by the demand of them as pets. Poaching in the Central and Southern America is incredibly high (in certain areas of Honduras is 100% for example) and they are poached to be sold to middlemen that will import them to the rest of the world. Now, since CITES, it’s difficult to find poached animals in NA and EU, but definitely not impossible. The main market is Asia, where they can be sold locally or then transferred to the west. At the same time, aviaries or “parrot mills” (some people call them like that) are the only reason why we have invasive parrots. If a couple of non native species get released by a distracted owners, the couple just ends up dying because they are not used to the environment. If a stock of hundreds or even thousands of animals of the same species escape an aviary they will first become a colony, then an invasive species. This phenomenon is called propagule pressure. Invasive species destabilise the natural balance, and invasive species of parrots are stealing nesting sites of owls and bats already. This is why we should at all cost, decrease the demand of them.
Because shops either breed then unnecessarily or they are wild parrots captured from abroad?
Both, if you live in NA you’ll probably struggle to find a poached one. But your theoretical demand puts a price tag on the few remaining wild ones and increases the presence of breeders that most of the time don’t care about the health of the individual they are raising and definitely don’t care about their local environment. Even from a sanitary perspective, oh gosh, I could go on for hours. Psittacosis, pbfd, avian influenza… Just please, if you want a pet and you want to buy it “brand new”, buy a dog or a cat
Cue the Monty Python jokes
European parrot or African parrot?
More like "THIS IS AN EX - PET - PARROT!"
“Pining for the fjords?”
[dead]
No offense, but lately I've had somewhat more pressing things to worry about...
They’re living things, just like you are. And they’re paying the price of our poor decisions without any agency in the matter.
I mean to a lot of people a parrot isn't much of a step below human due to their extraordinary intelligence. There are a considerable number of people that if they were trolley problemed against a parrot I would likely save the parrot.
We captured them against their will and put them into an artificial environment where they can't even survive without direct constant human help and they live for many decades and have a high emotional intelligence, the least we can do is care for them half decently.
[flagged]
Ya, that's what it's like living in a country that hasn't been trying to destroy itself for some time now.
We're able to buy electric cars from China, too. It's a whole civilization here. Of parrots and people
Exactly, I think articles like that are just a mockery.. there are 10s of things that can be considered a crisis than a this.
I find no mockery or mean spirit in this article. FWIW I'm Ukrainian, having quite a lot to worry about.
Ngarritj, a Yolngu speaking corella (small parrot) from Elcho Island in Northern Territory Australia, cannot change a thing happening to Ukranians, but might spark up your day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbSxc6Y1aVA
Crises, suffering, and people trying to help are no less valid just because they are juxtaposed with greater crises, suffering, and people trying to help.
Consider that enough users of this site voted for this article to get it on the front page. Clearly the story resonates with enough of them. No need to say basically “what you care about is worthless”, it’s easy just to go on your way if you are not interested.
Then why you spend time on HN and posting comments here?
Articles are hardly scarce. The barrier to addressing problems in society is not a shortage of people to write about them.
Look, what's one more crisis, in 2026?
In the northeastern towns of la county there entire flocks of wild parrots flying around, that are escaped or freed pet parrots or descendants from such pet parrots.
I guess parrots would not survive in the wild in canada, but if you have parrot you can no longer care for, maybe you could consider releasing it in the la foothills. He will have friends there.
Maybe is the key word here. I am not a parrot expert.
No, the vast majority of parrots released into the wild will just die a terrible death. They don't have a flock to live with and don't know how to survive. It's like if you took a bunch of TikTok influencers and threw them into a random forest completely without any support or help. Some will figure it out, but most would not, even if the weather won't kill them right away, they'll eat the wrong thing, drink the wrong thing, or not know how to protect themselves from other animals.
Apparently, they actually have a whole hit "reality" show that does it without fatalities; "Naked and Afraid". But they get training, and have an "out" back into civilisation.
So I can completely imagine they---the poor hapless tiktok influencers---meeting the unfortunate captive parrot's fate, if suddenly sent out into the maw of the wild, without any warning, preparation, or way back to second dibs at a home.
Never been to San Francisco, Telegraph Hill apparently. Huge flocks are living there for decades already.
Oh you sweet summer child, you have clearly never lived in Southern California.
I can identify the flock by the sound they make in the morning.
Entirely missing the point, which is not that they in general can't survive, but that large proportions of animals who have grown up in captivity won't survive if just dumped out in the wild.
Except that there are:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_parrot#Other
How many there are in absolute numbers I don't know, but your depiction of all parrots being too stupid to live in the wild is also incorrect. And other animals die too all of the time, so that is not a good assessment.
> And other animals die too all of the time
That’s exactly their point, the parrots are no different. The majority will die, which is what they said.
GP didn't say all parrots wouldn't survive - they said a majority wouldn't without a flock, which your link seems to at least partially agree with.
London has a massive population of feral parakeets, they can survive quite far north of the weather is mild. London is basically an urban forest so that does help.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_parakeets_in_Great_Brita...
I have lots of them showing up outside my office window... E.g. [1]
But the occasional survival eventually leading to a breeding population doesn't mean the odds of survival for released/escaped birds who have grown up in captivity isn't really low.
[1] https://m.galaxybound.com/@vidar/115909920534715199
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/02/rapid-ex...
Yeah, the explosion in numbers has been rapid, and they hang out in groups and can be real bullies to other birds so they'll definitely have an impact.
On the upside, they're also increasingly supplementing the food supply for peregrine falcons in London (they're apparently easier targets than the pigeons...
Liverpool too. Big flock of them in Sefton park in the south of the city. Pretty nice to see actually!
The parakeets have reached Birmingham as well. Often seen in Canon Hill park, Highbury park or Yardley Old Village around the church. Always brightens my day.
https://www.paradiseroad.co.uk/the-parakeeting-of-london-an-...
Lol please don't release random parrots. Even if they happen to be the species common in LA, if they aren't members of the wild flock they might get bullied.
You never release exotic pets to the wild. Isn't that common knowledge by now? If you can no longer care for an animal bring it to the vet to get it euthanized.
Did you ask the bird whether it wants to be nuked by you - or, by proxy, the vet - here? I don't call murder "euthanization" - that is just propaganda to sell to yourself that you have the right to decide who lives and who does not.
Releasing it is just murder by neglect so people don't feel bad about themself that they actually killed their pet just because "they can't care" for it anymore aka they don't want to deal with the minor inconvenience of caring for a pet anymore. Or worse they become a pest that wipes out whole local ecosystems.
Right has nothing to do with it. It’s about power and responsibility.
It would be irresponsible to release parrot into an environment that is not its natural habitat.
> I am not a parrot expert.
Then why are you giving advice on parrots?
They're parroting what they read on the internet.
No, we do not need more invasive species. Please stop giving terrible advise.