20.8.08

F I R S TP R E V834NEXTLAST

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
In the 1990s street musician Mark Bittner was house sitting on Telegraph Hill when he discovered a population of wild tropical parrots living in the heart of San Francisco. The birds, 130 cherry-headed and blue-crowned conures, appeared to be escaped pets that had prospered on their own. For a decade Bittner observed the flock and studied their behavior. In 2004 Bittner published a book, The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill which was later turned into a documentary film by the same name. Today Bittner is a recognized expert on wild parrots and teaches on the subject.

*Full disclosure: this isn't a photo of one of the actual wild parrots, but in my defense I did climb the many Telegraph Hill stairs on four occasions trying to capture them.
[ MAP E-15 ]


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