Too many birds of a feather may be flocking in the San Gabriel
Valley. Experts fear a growing population of wild, non-native
parrots is crowding native birds out of prime nesting spots. The
problem, researchers say, is the pecking order. “There are only
so many nest sites available,” said Melanie Stalder, a graduate
student at California Polytechnic University in Pomona who has
studied the phenomenon. “If the parrots take over, then the
native birds won’t be able to use them.” Parrots Traced to 1950s
Pet Shop Stalder and fellow researcher Karen Mabb expect to
begin a project next spring to investigate why parrots have so
successfully colonized the San Gabriel Valley cities east of Los
Angeles. They also hope to determine whether the parrots are
inbreeding, the Pasadena Star-News reported. Some trace the wild
parrots to a fire in a Pasadena pet shop in 1959, when the owner
freed birds to save them from the flames. But the fire is only
one factor, said Kimball Garrett, ornithologist at the Natural
History Museu