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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Environment
Katharine Gammon in Los Angeles

These parrots came to Los Angeles as pets – then went wild. Now scientists are unlocking their mysteries

two mitred parakeets cuddling; parrot and man in lab
Mitred parakeets observed in Los Angeles county in 2006. John McCormack, director of the Moore zoology lab, observes a parrot specimen. Composite: Allen J Schaben/Getty; David Fouts/The Guardian

A morning mist hung over the palm trees as birds chattered and cars roared by on the streets of Pasadena. It was a scene that evoked a tropical island rather than a bustling city in north-east Los Angeles county.

“It feels parrot-y,” says Diego Blanco, a research assistant at Occidental College’s Moore Laboratory of Zoology, nodding to the verdant flora that surrounds us: tall trees and ornamental bushes with berries.

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