2020-02-01_Fortean_Times

26 FT389

THE PARAKEETS OF

LONDON [FT258:23]

Various

explanations

havebeenposited

toexplainhow

ring-necked

parakeetsarrived

intheUK.Accordingtothe

RSPB,Britainnowhasaround

8,600breedingpairsofthe

raucous,brightgreenparr ots,

outnumberingbarnowls,

nightingalesandkingfishers.

Onerumourclaimedthatsome

parakeetsescapedfromthe

filmsetofTheAfrican Queen,

starringHumphreyBogart

andKatharineHepburn,setin

EastAfrica,butlargelyshotat

WortonHallStudios,Isleworth,

in1951.Anothersuggestion

wasthatflamboyantguitar

heroJimiHendrixownedapair

ofthenow-ubiquitousbirds,

whichhadescapedfromhis

1960sMayfairflat,oreventhat

hehaddeliberatelyreleaseda

pair(namedAdamandEve)on

CarnabyStree tin1 968.

However,recentresearch

byUniversityofLondon’s

Goldsmiths,University

CollegeLondonandQueen

MaryUniversitieshasrefuted

thesetheories.Theirstudy

employedgeographicprofiling,

astatisticaltechniqueusedin

criminology,toanalysespatial

patternsofparakeetsightings.

Appliedtobiologicaldata,this

modelcanidentifyoriginsites

ofdiseasesorintroductionsites

ofnon-nativespecies.Thestudy

examinedover5,000unique

recordsdatingfrom1968to

2018.Noneofthe“suspectsites”

linkedtoparakeetoriginmyths

(e.g.Isleworth,CarnabyStreet)

appearedprominentlyint he

resultantgeo-profiling.Indeed,

theresearchersuncovered

sightingsfromthe1860s,and

intentionalreleasesin1929-

1931and1952.Sensational

newspaperstoriesofhuman

deathsduetopsittacosis

infectionsappearedin1929,and

in1932,theMiddlesex County

Timesreportedparakeets

spottedinEppingForest,

blamingthe“parrotdisease

scare”of1931.“Ifyouweretold

youwereatriskbeingnearone,

itwouldbe mucheasiertoletit

outthewindowthantodestroy

it”,saidSarahElizabethCox,

postgraduatehistorystuden tat

Goldsmiths.

Thestudyalsonotedthatby

1961,birdsweremorepopular

petsintheUKthancatsand

dogs,with11millioncaptive

birdsofv ariousspecies.Thusit

seemsobvioustherewouldbe

anincreaseinescapes.The

first familygroupappearsto

havebeenspottedinKentin

1969.Theirrangeseemsto

haveexpandedinthe1970s,

withrecordsofnestsinGreater

Manchester, Surrey, Essex,

MiddlesexandBerkshire.The

first recordedsightingofa

singlebirdwasinNorfolk,1855,

soJimiHendrixorTheAfrican

Queencanfinallyber uledout.

BBC News,Times, 12 Dec 2019.

STARLING APOCALYPSE

[FT388:4]

Followingthegrisly

discovery ofaround

225starlings

founddeador

dyingin acountry

laneinAnglesey,

NorthWales,on11December

2019,aDepartmentforthe

Environment,FoodandRural

Affair s(Defra)investigation

hasdeterminedthatthebirds

diedfrominjuriessustained

uponimpactwiththeground,

whiletestsforbirdfluproved

negative.AnneGoodenough,

ProfessorofAppliedEcology

(andstarlingspecialist)atthe

UniversityofGloucestershire,

suggestedthebirdshadbeen

partof amassmurmuration

(whenhundredsorthousands

ofstarlingsgatherinthesk yto

formco-ordinated,swooping,

intricatepatterns)buthad

beendisorientatedbytheSun’s

reflectiononawetroad.“You

couldhavehadquitealotof

glarefromthat,thatcould

havepotentiallyconfusedthe

birds”,shesaid.“Weknowthat

canhappentobirds,soweget

swansandgeese,forexample,

crashlandingontosolarpanels

becausetheylooklik elakes.

Sothatkindofalmostvisual

hallucinationcanoccur–

whetherthatisthecasehere,

wedon’tknow”.

In2018 ,around10 woodcocks

werefounddeadinvarious

part sofStHelierontheisland

ofJersey .MickDryden,abird

enthusiast,suggestedthe

threatenedwadingbirdsmight

havebecomedisorientatedand

confusedbyartificiallights

inthetown,lightsreflected

inglass-panelledbuildings

whichtheythencrashedinto.

MrDryden,Chairmanofthe

OrnithologySectionofthe

SocieteJersiaise,commented:

“Mostbirdsareattractedby

brightlightatnight...[but]

theywillflyaroundthem”.BBC

News, 20 Dec 2018; 19 Dec 2019.

CUBAN SONIC ATTACK

[FT359:22]

Frommid-2017

onwards,reports

beganappearing

aboutUSdiplomats

basedatembassies

inCubaand

Chinafallingsic kafterbeing

subjec tedto mysterioussonic

‘attacks’.Over20diplomatic

staffinHavanafellvictimto

arangeofunexplainedhealth

problems,whichtypical lybegan

afterhearingstrangegratingor

vibratingsounds.Despitestrong

denials,theUSblamedCubafor

the‘attacks’,expellingCuban

diplomatsandwors eningthe

long-standingdiplomaticrift

betweenthetwocountries.The

USalsowithdrewnon-essential

UpdatesonpreviousFT reports,including

FORTEANFOLLOW-UPS mysteriousavianfatalitiesandexoticinvaders

DAN DAVISON

/C

RE

ATIVE

CO

MMONS

ABOVE:Oneof therecent photosfromNASA’sCuriosityexplorer showedan unexplainedbrightflash onthesurfaceof Mars.

STRANGEDAYS