OKay - maybe just my imagination - but has anyone else seen what appears to be a wild Parrot in the trees along Honor Oak Road recently? I've snapped a rather poor quality (i.e from a distance) photo of it in the trees from window at about 6am the other morning - and it really did look like a dark coloured parrot - it even held the tree branches as it was (presumably) eating berries in the same way a foraging parrot would. May be going mad of course - but wondered if it was just me!!

Did it look like this:

In which case it is a parakeet, quite common in the area. More details at http://www.foresthillsociety.com/2008/04...-se23.html

that very much answers the question - Yes it looked exactly like that (from a distance as far as I can tell) but it was rather large. Thanks very much - I am now hugley enlightened and quite enthralled!

If you go for a walk in any of the local parks (or along the Ravenbourne river) you may well be treated to the sight of a whole flock of them. Over Christmas, we spotted flocks of them in Brockley Park, Dulwich Park, Chrystal Palace Park and along the Ravenbourne Walk (the bit between the Savacentre and Catford.

Can I correct you all please, they are not parrots as they don't say 'Who's a pretty bpy then' and 'pieces of eight, pieces of eight'.They to make a racket though.

As Micheal said, they're parakeets.
I like the Jimi Hendrix story. Wish it was true:
http://www.forteantimes.com/strangedays/...ondon.html

Ah - http://birds.about.com/od/breedsofbirds/...keets.htm:

Question: Are Parakeets Parrots?
Are Parakeets Parrots? What distinguishes them from other hookbills?
Answer: Yes, all Parakeets are true Parrots, and generally make up the small to medium sized members of the species.

The word "Parakeet" is a descriptive term that refers to the long tails of these types of birds.

Here's another English parrot with showbiz connections
http://wn.com/Freddie_Davies

Few months back there were 7 or 8 of these ParaTweets in a tree just outside my window. Used to come and go quite often but they would always fly off together come evening and seemed to go down to the same spot somewhere near Perry Vale (i'm top of a block of maisonettes). Wondered if someone was keeping them.

Interesting BBC article here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6478911.stm

There were quite a few in Peckham Rye Park on Saturday morning!

They fly over every night around 6.30pm on their way to grove park area. During the day the are in peckham rye park in the trees

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment...74064.html

Enjoy them while you can

My cat among the pigeons sits on the Crows Pen.

Mutant pigeons perhaps? Some of them look almost chickeny (what a great word).

Well spotted there, Andy. Definitely some of the mutant pigeons have mutated into chickeny beings.

Oh, I spot one that has mutated into a crow. Look inside the chook pen. What a clever pigeon.

Loads of them have been about in the Taymount area recently too