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Long Beach, Calif.---As
you drive along majestic Ocean Blvd. near Livingston & 2nd St.
in Southern California's popular Belmont Shore,
a colony
of green parrots with bright red spots living in the palm
trees overhead may be on lookout. Be sure to roll down the car
window at 39th Place intersection and listen for the sound. The
loud, sharp chirps and caws are the tip-off that conure parrots
are in town, perched high above the car traffic.
The birds have a long history and
relationship with the city, dating back to the mid-1980's.
According to a shop owner near the Belmont Memorial Pier, the
parrots escaped a pet store in Pasadena that caught on fire
several decades ago. Pasadena is approx. 42 miles away by car,
or as the conure flies, approx. 35 miles.
Found in Central and South America,
how does the Half Moon conure species of parrot makes a go of it
so far from its habitat? Living on a diet of lush tropical
plants and fruits, the hearty bird is unique in that it survives
in Southern California, even though many parrot species can't.
While the flock of conures could
easily have settled on the grounds of the Huntington Library &
Gardens in San Marino or the Los Angeles Aboretum in Arcadia,
one of the group's favorite perches happens to be in Belmont
Shore. The secret to its existence according to scientists who
have studied this group of birds on the campus of California
State University Long Beach, is the migration habits and the
bird's ability to forage for food among the many plants,
flowering bushes and fruits that Southern California offers.
Some of those tropical flowers are found on the campus of the
university, which explains why the vibrant green parrots are
sometimes seen there.
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