Parakeet ‘crime map’ busts Bogart and Hendrix myths

Parakeet ‘crime map’ busts Bogart and Hendrix myths - Queen Mary University of London

Queen Mary researchers have used geographic profiling to uncover the truth behind how the non-native birds arrived and spread in Britain.

The study published today in the Journal of Zoology shows that Britain’s booming parakeet population has grown from numerous small-scale accidental and intentional pet releases dispelling common myths about the bird’s origins in the UK.

Lead author Dr Steven Le Comber and Queen Mary colleagues used geographic profiling – a statistical technique originally developed in criminology to prioritise large lists of suspects – to analyse spatial patterns of parakeet sightings.

A parakeet sitting on a fence (image: Queen Mary University of London)

Dr Le Comber said: “The ring-necked parakeet has become a successful invasive species in 34 countries on five continents. The fun legends relating to the origins of the UK’s parakeets are probably not going to go away any time soon. However, our research only found evidence to support the belief of most ornithologists: the spread of parakeets in the UK is likely a consequence of repeated releases and introductions, and nothing to do with publicity stunts by musicians or movie stars.”

Debunking the myths

Stories have circulated in recent years about how parakeets have become one of Britain’s most successful alien species.

Despite sightings dating back to the 1860s, many insist that Jimi Hendrix first released a pair on Carnaby Street. Others claim a flock was let go from the set of the Bogart and Hepburn classic The African Queen when filming wrapped in 1951.

The research found that none of the ‘suspect sites’ connected to origin myths showed up prominently in the geoprofile of more than 5,000 unique records dating from 1968 - 2018. The findings were backed by an extensive search of archived newspaper articles conducted at Goldsmiths, University of London, which found thousands of pages of news stories about parakeets written between 1804 and 2008 but failed to locate a single item of news coverage documenting the escape or release of parakeets in the context of the four main origin myths.