Wild parakeets in Florida are not uncommon as the state is host to well established flocks of parakeets and parrots.
You can certainly imagine what with Florida being a tropical climate and all that many colorful parrots would be native to the area right?
Wrong – there are only 2 types of parrots native to the US – The carolina parakeet (now extinct) and the thick billed parrot. Now you are probably wondering then, how the heck did these birds get there? A logical guess would be that the parrots and wild parakeets in Florida are escaped house pets, right? Wrong again!
In the 1960’s pet parrots became quite popular and there was a huge business importing parrots that were caught in the wild elsewhere. It is thought that the wild parakeets in Florida originated from these birds that somehow got loose before being sold off.
Since these birds were not domesticated and already had to fend for themselves in the wild, it was easy for them to adapt to life in Florida and multiply to the flocks present today.
Although budgerigars or wild parakeets in Florida once numbered into the tens of thousands, there are less than a thousand left today. No one really knows why there numbers have declined but it is possible they have simply been displaced by other birds where there are not enough nesting spots to go around.
Aside from wild parakeets in Florida, the state is also host to other wild parrots such as monk parakeets, black-hooded parakeets, mitred conures, yellow-chevroned parakeets, white-winged parakeets, orange-winged parrots and Severe macaws.