Parakeets!

I like parakeets. Perhaps its because green is my favourite colour. Or because they look a little bit exotic here in Scotland. Or perhaps it’s because they’re Escapologists.

I assumed their being so far north was a symptom of climate change. They look like hot weather birds after all. But apparently the Himalayas is their natural habitat and they’ve been in the UK since at least the 1970s.

A naturalist writes:

Over the years, I’ve heard many myths about how they got here in the first place. “They were released by a stoned Jimi Hendrix, who let them out in London’s Carnaby Street…”; “They escaped from the film set of The African Queen…”; “They made a bid for freedom when their cage broke during the Great Storm of 1987…”

And the truth?

the parakeets’ presence here is rather a letdown: as popular cagebirds, it was inevitable some would escape.

That’s not a letdown at all! Either way, they’re Escapologists. Godspeed, parakeets.

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Issue 16 is taking longer to print than predicted but it’s honestly almost there. Stock is due at Escape Towers on June 19th and I’ll be shipping them on that very day. Envelopes are already printed for subscribers and pre-orders. Not among their number yet? Here’s where to go.