Enjoy!!!

Enjoy!!!

Saturday, December 23, 2023

Some birds in Malaga city, Spain

The noisiest inhabitants of Malaga have to be the Monk parakeets. They are really loud with their constant screeching. They are not so visible as they fly fast and you just see a flash of their bright green colour. They are also known as Monk parrots, or Quaker parrot, or cotorra argentina. They are not native to Europe, they come from Argentina. The wild ones are probably descendants of escapees brought into the country. 


They are the only parakeets to build nests. They live in ornamental trees such as palms. Now they are becoming a problem in Spain, especially with a long lifespan of 20-30 years. There are a lot along the Costa del Sol coast, much to the annoyance of holidaymakers. The situation is getting so bad that marksmen may soon go out and shoot them. They are already being culled in Madrid. See more on the Monk parakeets.



I have also seen a lot of these parakeets in Barcelona - 


Also in Malaga are are the inevitable pigeons and doves. These include the Eurasian collared dove. 





Another bird seen in huge numbers are the gulls around the harbour. There are thousands. I think they are Yellow-Legged Gulls and also some Lesser Black-backed gulls. It is quite an impressive site to see so many, though I didn't manage to get any really good photos. The Yellow-Legged Gulls have slate grey upper parts with blacker wing tips and bright yellow legs.