THE PARAKEETS OF SOUTH LONDON

It may seem strange to glance out of your window on a mid December day and find your apple tree visited by four hungry feral rose ringed parakeets, but not to those living in South London. 

Nobody knows how many of these there are but it is estimated that there are as many as up to 50,000 in the Capital.  Urban myth has it that a few escaped from Ealing studios during the filming of The African Queen in 1952 and that their numbers have steadily increased since then.