They’re beautiful to look at, but not before the break of dawn.
Ironically enough, a group of parrots is called a pandemonium which seems to be a perfect description considering how locals feel about their squawking. Most of us have our morning alarm clocks set accordingly, but nature’s alarm clock has a different idea in mind.
I feel like my bedroom is located in the velociraptor exhibit at Jurassic Park because these Pasadena parrots sound just like the raptors in the movie. They also kind of sound like screaming children and it’s kind of creepy
— Andrew🥂 (@_AndrewC17) June 24, 2018
The screaming and shrieking may be just as annoying as it is terrifying, but many people enjoy living next to exotic wildlife granted that the bright green species are endangered in their native habitat in northeastern Mexico.
Acknowledging that red-crowned parrots aren’t native to Los Angeles, it can be confusing as to how there are so many. Rumor has it that hoards of parrots made a narrow escape to freedom during a massive pet store fire, but not much evidence can back up this theory. It’s likely that instead, a steady flow of individual pet escapees found one another and laid the foundation for today’s population.
The very thing that brought the red-crowns to Los Angeles plays part in their dwindling numbers in Mexico, as well as deforestation to their habitats. It’s estimated that only 3,000 to 10,000 parrots remain in Mexico, so it’s extremely impressive that an estimated 3,000 live in L.A. County. The idea of fostering an endangered population outside of its original habitat is remarkable. Serves as food for the thought the next time you’re woken up at 4 a.m. by these unique next-door-neighbors.