When Kevin and I visited San Francisco in the summer of 2007 we did all the touristy stuff, including a visit to the switchbacks on Lombard Street. We were talking some photos when a very noisy flock of birds flew overhead and landed in a nearby tree. I am not a birder/birdwatcher (i.e., I don't carry field guides and binoculars everywhere) but my dad is and, whether I like it or not, if I see an unfamiliar bird I'm drawn to it and can't help wanting to know what it is. Thanks John. In any case, I discovered that the birds were parrots. Having no prior knowledge of parrots inhabiting San Francisco, I couldn't quite believe that I was observing parrots living wild in an American city. I took photos as proof:

(download)

Click here to download:

wild_parrots_of_telegraph_hill.zip (664 KB)

Later in our trip, when perusing the shelves at the famous City Lights Bookstore, I discovered that a book had been written about the parrots. As a student with limited disposable income and way too much reading on my plate, I didn't buy the book. I did, however, recently borrow it from my friend Matthew and just finished reading it. The book was quite interesting.

Some interesting facts:
- The parrots are called cherry-headed conures when sold as pets (which is where the San Francisco population likely originated) and red-masked parakeets by ornithologists
- They are originally from northwestern Ecuador and Peru
- They successfully breed in San Francisco and they've been in San Francisco for many years
- There was a species of parrots native to the US, but these were hunted to extinction by 1918
- Telegraph hill is steep because soil was mined from the slopes for use as ballast in ships

Most of these facts are from one chapter of the book. The rest focuses on the author's relationship with the parrots over several years. The story is very sweet and the book made learning about the parrots much more enjoyable than I imagine reading the Wikipedia entry would be. (There doesn't seem to be an entry about the parrots in San Francisco, hence I've taken the opportunity to promote a related product.)