How Do Introduced Parrots Thrive In Cities?

Are parrots competing with native bird species for essential resources or are they living in unexploited ecological spaces?

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Adult male rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri) resting on a tree branch. (Credit: Siegfried Poepperl, via Pexels)

Some of you may have read my recent piece where I shared a study that reports that native trees better support urban native birds than exotic tree species do (read it here). That study may have made you wonder whether introduced exotic species are always a threat to native biodiversity?

No, they’re not. According to a recent study, when “empty” ecological niches exist that are unexploited by native local species, exotic species can colonize and exploit those niches without directly competing with native species. This revelation came from studying introduced parakeets living in Italian cities and finding that their success is not the result of chance nor is it through direct competition with native avifauna, such as sparrows, blackbirds or robins. On the contrary, the success of introduced parrots is the result of their ability to occupy and exploit an empty niche space.

A flock of Monk Parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) dining on seeds. (Credit: Cassiano Psomas, via Pexels)