Argentine city struggles to stop parrot invasion
October 3, 20242 Mins Read

International Desk: Parrots have become a problem in the city of Hilario Ascasubi near Argentina's eastern Atlantic coast. Thousands of green-yellow-red parrots swarm the city. Residents are struggling to deal with these birds.

Biologists say the birds migrated to the city due to deforestation in the surrounding hilly areas. They bite electrical wires and cause power outages. And the residents are fed up with the chirping calls and droppings of these birds.

Biologist Diana Lera said the birds are moving closer to cities in search of food, shelter and water as the surrounding mountain forests are destroyed. He noted that a large part of Argentina's forests have been destroyed in the past few years.

Over the past few years these parrots have started taking shelter in the city during autumn and winter. Sometimes there are 10 parrots for every 5,000 people in the city, according to locals.

During the summer these birds migrate to the mountains of southern Patagonia for the breeding season.

Some pictures show hundreds of birds perched on power lines and poles in the city, or flocks of birds flying over buildings and churches in the sunset light.

These scenes are reminiscent of director Alfred Hitchcock's famous 1963 thriller 'The Birds'.

Local journalist Ramon Alvarez of Radio Taxi FM said they bit the wire and damaged it. Then, during the rain, water entered the wire and the electricity connection was cut off. Every day these parrots increase our expenses and cause problems. When the power goes out, the radio turns off.

The townspeople have tried to use various methods to scare away these birds. Such as sound or laser light. But none of it worked.

Biologist Lera said, we need to start the work of restoring the natural environment. But until that happens, we need to think of strategies that will facilitate the co-existence of these birds in our cities.