Post by Flying Monkeys on Jun 6, 2022 11:15:00 GMT
A brightly coloured subtropical songbird from Asia could colonise Britain’s gardens and change the dawn chorus for ever, a new paper warns.
The highly invasive red-billed leiothrix could threaten native bird populations, particularly competing with garden birds such as the robin and blackbird, researchers say. Early signs suggest this little bird – olive green with a bright red beak and yellow throat – may already be establishing itself in gardens and woodlands in southern parts of the country.
The main cluster of sightings is around Wiltshire and Somerset, with a handful of reports coming from farther afield in south Wales, Merseyside and Kent, according to a new paper published in the journal Ibis. Also known as pekin robins in the caged bird trade, it is likely these populations have escaped from captivity, but it is not yet known if they are breeding.
The red-billed leiothrix’s European range has doubled in two decades, with populations now established in Italy, Spain, Portugal and France. As the climate crisis escalates, the climate of southern Britain is increasingly favourable to them. “This could be the next ring-necked parakeet – it’ll be a change people notice,” warned lead author Richard Broughton from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, who said they could become a familiar sight on garden bird tables.
www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/06/red-billed-leiothrix-native-birds-britain-aoe
The highly invasive red-billed leiothrix could threaten native bird populations, particularly competing with garden birds such as the robin and blackbird, researchers say. Early signs suggest this little bird – olive green with a bright red beak and yellow throat – may already be establishing itself in gardens and woodlands in southern parts of the country.
The main cluster of sightings is around Wiltshire and Somerset, with a handful of reports coming from farther afield in south Wales, Merseyside and Kent, according to a new paper published in the journal Ibis. Also known as pekin robins in the caged bird trade, it is likely these populations have escaped from captivity, but it is not yet known if they are breeding.
The red-billed leiothrix’s European range has doubled in two decades, with populations now established in Italy, Spain, Portugal and France. As the climate crisis escalates, the climate of southern Britain is increasingly favourable to them. “This could be the next ring-necked parakeet – it’ll be a change people notice,” warned lead author Richard Broughton from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, who said they could become a familiar sight on garden bird tables.
www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/06/red-billed-leiothrix-native-birds-britain-aoe
I have no idea why it's legal for collectors to import non-native species. Anyone with an ounce of knowledge about ecology will know it's a terrible idea and just another example of man screwing up the natural world.