Did you know? The name San Francisco comes from Saint Francis, patron saint of birds!!! 

The first observations date back to 1989. They are thanks to Marc Bittner and Cheryl Bentley, who – it is important to note – cared for sick or wounded parrots. The group, made up of aratinga erythrogenys and aratinga mitrata, currently live in the Telegraph Hill neighbourhood and are at least the sixth generation of these birds.

These small parrots normally live in South America. The favourable climate of the Californian coast is one explanation for their increasing numbers. The first observed birds were probably escapees following an illegal importing from Peru or Ecuador. It is estimated that there are currently 80 individual birds.

The parrots now often fly in separate groups. They eat different fruits and berries found in San Francisco and even pyracantha, eucalyptus, magnolia and pine trees. In bad weather, additional food is given to them.

There are only three main threats to this population: birds of prey, cats ... and people who think it’s "cool" to catch and put them in cages.

A very playful couple!

Nesting occurs in natural cavities of trees, mainly palm / date trees in the Canary Islands.

Observations made over several years show that this colony does not harass, and even ignores, San Francisco’s indigenous birds.

Mark Bittner, who took these photos, wrote a book and made ​​a film about this colony.

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ASAP thanks Marc Bittner for providing us with his own photos.