Boon or Bane

[Siddhartha Gogoi]

Hi All,

I will keep it short and simple, "what happens when an exotic species of bird breeds in the wild and it's population increases". I was lucky or unlucky to photograph a Budgerigar an Australian lovebird in Mudumalai, it would've escaped from a cage. Now this species do not migrate to other places and is only found in Australia, and hence it will be in this habitat till it perishes. Migratory birds after flying to different parts of the world fly back to it's native habitat however in this case what happens if this Buderigar mates with other species or if it is pregnant then chances of the species rising is more. Though this species prefers humid and hot climate, I wonder if it will be able to sustain the chill winds of the Nilgiris. An expert Ornithologist should be able to give us some more insight on what happens when a Bird which is not native, breeds in the wild and it's consequences in the Habitat belonging to the native species. Appreciate it.

Thanks & Regards,
Siddhartha

[Sabyasachi Patra]

It depends on the species concerned. Some of these exotic birds may not survive in the wild.

However, if they survive then they have the potential to play havoc with the existing ones. For eg. in the state of Florida in USA a few people have released their pythons in the wild as they could no longer manage these exotic "pets". These pythons have now multiplied and there is a deadly battle going on between the Aligator and the Python as the Python is now trying to displace it as the apex predator there. Depending upon the size the individual python or aligator wins.

Spotted deer were introduced into Andamans. They played havoc with the local plant species.

I am not sure whether it is possible for the bird in the photo to mate with a local species.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi