Could domesticated parrots ever survive in the wild?
Its possible. You would have a much better chance of them surviving if they were aviary bred and introduced into the wild at a young age- when they can still learn. The problem with handreared parrots is that they lose many of their ‘natural instincts’ and even their proper vocal skills, as well as their knowledge on how to look for food. Some parrots that are pets can do well in the wild- here in Australia we often see cockatoos and galahs that have been pets that fly in flocks with their species. Sometimes it depends on the species. There are flocks around the world of introduced parrots that have escaped into the wild and survived. A fantastic film to watch is ‘the wild parrots of telegraph hill’ which is a documentary on wild introduced parrots living in San Fransisco, and the man who learned how to live with them. There are certainly breed and release programs being used to breed animals, fish, insects and birds and release them into the wild- so it is certainly do-able.
