Mystery as 'drunk' parrots litter NT town[

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Mystery as 'drunk' parrots litter NT town

Hundreds of seemingly drunk parrots are falling out of trees and the sky in a NT town, mystifying veterinary surgeons who are struggling to care for them.

The brightly coloured lorikeets are showing classic signs of drunkenness by losing all coordination and passing out, and then cowering in cages as they recover from their "hangovers".

"They definitely seem like they're drunk," said Lisa Hansen, a veterinary surgeon at the Ark Animal Hospital in Palmerston, near Darwin.

"They fall out of trees... and they're not so coordinated as they would normally be. They go to jump and they miss the next perch."

Hansen said nobody was sure what was causing the symptoms, although it may be a plant they are eating. Other theories include an outbreak of a mystery virus.

She said the hospital, which is seeking donations, was caring for about 30 birds at a time with eight arriving each day after being scooped up from lawns and roadsides.

The birds are given sweetened porridge and fresh fruit -- the avian version of hangover food.

"It's probably the equivalent of ice-cream and cans of coke for the lorikeets," Hansen said.

"They sit on the floor of the cage and rest their heads on the side, or they curl up in the corner and hide under the paper and block the rest of the world out."

Hansen said "drunk" lorikeets have been seen in Palmerston previously but never in such numbers, adding that the birds can die without proper care.

Ninemsn

[vual]

Fermented nectar 0_o

[flora]

lol i saw the video of this. they are hungover for months though. thats not no alcopops those parrots are on drugs

[FancyPants]

I wonder if some sick bastard put something in the bird feed mix.

[Sonny Jim]

^^^ Yeah, poor birds. It does sound like they have been poisoned.

They must be pretty crook if they cant even perch.

You'd think if it was etoh poisoning it would be easily detected by a blood test.

[rahli]

Drop Lorri.

A wildlife officer once told me it happens every year around this time. He wasn't sure why.

[gerbil]

Drop Lorri.

A wildlife officer once told me it happens every year around this time. He wasn't sure why.

 

Saw similar the other week, north eastern melb, from a really decent height, a small ball 2-3 just dropped and smashed the ground pretty hard, they weren't fighting or breeding by the looks of it, really quite calm, was almost a bit of slow motion, I observe them generally on a daily basis and it's the first time something as distinct as that happened.

[FancyPants]

Or the particular acacia flowers they might have been feeding on?