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Post by Die Fledermaus on Oct 8, 2007 21:23:33 GMT -4
We were speaking of non-indigenous species (such as the gray squirrel in Britain) in another thread. They can be a big problem. In Brooklyn, NY, and other parts of the northeast, the pretty monk parakeets, sometimes called Quakers, have become both a delight and a problem (when nesting in electric poles). In Green-Wood Cemetery they have become quite famous - the first article shows them and where they nest in the landmark main gate at the cemetery, itself a National Historic Landmark. The birds originally escaped from a crate at Kennedy airport in the 1960's. How these birds native to Brazil survive the Winters is a puzzlement! Some can be found in pet stores, but they are very noisy and if captured as wild adults they may not be suitable for apartments! The second article, which you may not be able to fully read, simply describes how the birds are expanding from the base colony in Green-Wood and settling in other parts of Brooklyn. Are they displacing pigeons and other birds? What effect will all this have on the current environment?
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Post by hamwolf89 on Oct 8, 2007 23:20:14 GMT -4
Interesting..
The quaker sounds like an odd name. It referees to religious outliers.
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Oct 9, 2007 0:00:32 GMT -4
I really don't know why it is called that. The real name is Monk Parakeets. They are not in fact "parrots". they are much bigger than your usual parakeet, but a little smaller than a caique - a small parrot.
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Post by pinky on Oct 9, 2007 20:00:48 GMT -4
The chemist liked this excerpt from Wikipedia! <In addition they have found a home within Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York after an accidental release decades ago[5]. While the grounds crew initially tried to destroy the unsightly nests at the entrance gate, they no longer do so, because the presence of the parrots has reduced the number of pigeons nesting within it. The management's decision was based on a comparative chemical analysis of pigeon feces (which destroy brownstone structures) and Monk Parakeet feces (which have no ill effect). Oddly then, the Monk Parakeets are in effect preserving this historic structure.>
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Oct 9, 2007 21:19:57 GMT -4
I wonder how they differ??
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Post by pinky on Oct 9, 2007 23:22:09 GMT -4
Pigeon feces are very acidic. I guess parrot feces are less so.
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Oct 10, 2007 19:00:13 GMT -4
I think I should ave said "why?". But who knows?!
OK, Ms Chemistry, here is a good question for you. The famous Williamsburgh Bridge in NYC, opened a century ago, last decade had to be torn down as the steel was all fouled up as it was not galvanized. Owing to problems with traffic and property acquisition that would have been absurd (tearing it down), but it had to be TOTALLY REPLACED, all the steel. So they slowly removed and replaced every beam and girder, et al. Everything we see now is no more than a decade old! This is similar to a human body after seven years - all new cells.
So, how did the failure to galvanize the steel a century ago cause such a problem?
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Post by Die Fledermaus on May 5, 2012 18:47:00 GMT -4
Update. Yes Quaker droppings do NOT harm brownstone, as pigeons' do.
As for noise, I have one now as a pet and the noise is quite manageable, especially when the bird has a friend to perch with; mine has a Fischer's Lovebird.as a pal. There is noise only if I reach in the cage, as I have to some times,.
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