| Radio programs for the week of 3 March 2003 |
For more information: A Birder's Guide to Florida, by Bill Pranty
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When we talk about Florida's sub-tropical climate, we're usually commenting on the many unusual plants and animals that the climate makes possible. There's a relatively new addition that seems to fit right in. Introducing the Parrots of Florida on today's Florida Environment... Add a new animal species to the list of critters that make Florida look so tropical: Parrots. Gone from Florida since the turn of the 1900s, dozens of species now make Florida their sub-tropical home. Biologist Bill Pranty studies parrots and parakeets... |
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Often, when a new plant or animal species is introduced to Florida, it heads off to the wildlands: the forests or the everglades. Not so with the dozens of species of parrots in Florida. Parrots Urban Desires in today's Florida Environment... Florida apparently has what it takes to satisfy parrots. Since becoming a popular pet in the 1950s, releases and escapes have led to 70 or more species here, 25 of which are breeding in the wild. Biologist Bill Pranty says that's all very recent as Florida's only native parrot died off decades ago... |
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If your idea of a parrot is the large creature adorning a pirate's shoulder, you're likely to miss the seventy or more parrot species that've been spotted in Florida. But their squawk might be bigger than their size. Watching for Florida's Parrots, in today's Florida Environment. There are more than 20 species of parrot believed to be breeding in Florida, and 70 species at least spotted in the wild. And while the areas around Fort Lauderdale and St. Pete are the best places to spot wild parrots, other urban sighting are possible, if you know what to look for. Biologist Bill Pranty.... |
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Most news reports about non-native plants and animals in Florida have some sort of disaster in them: The invaders taking over where natives once prospered. But what of Florida's parrots? Find out about Parrots Benign Instrusion in today's Florida Environment... There's a great variety of parrots in the wild in Florida: as many as 70 different kinds, with 20 species believed to be breeding. All of them were introduced to Florida... either released or escaped. But biologist Bill Pranty makes clear the distinction between introduced parrots and invasive species... |
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Since the 70 or more species of parrot identified in Florida are all non-native -- either escaped or released here -- there's been little research done on them, as attention goes to native species. But that could be changing. New Attention for Parrots in today's Florida Environment... There's a new interest in studying parrots in Florida. While the state's only native species became extinct here around the turn of the 1900s, nearly a quarter of the world's species have been spotted here--all introduced through escape or release. Bill Pranty is a wildlife biologist... |