'Dronken' papegaaien overspoelen Australische stad

[Jan Jaap]

• Veterinarians are struggling to explain why parrots in an Australian town are seemingly drunk.
• The birds show classic signs of drunkenness by losing all coordination and passing out.
• Without proper care, the lorikeets could die.

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

The brightly colored 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 told AFP on Wednesday. "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.

http://news.discovery.com/animals/bi...r-mystery.html

[arasevera]

Heel bijzonder? ben benieuwd of ze er achter kunnen komen wat het is?

[rhadamantis]

Dit lijkt erg hard op een verhaal dat ik gelezen heb over dronken merels en andere zangvogels in Engeland. Daar was de reden dat de vogels bessen aten in november. De bessen waren aan de struik blijven hangen en waren beginnen gisten (Het zelfde proces als druiven in wijn beginnen te veranderen)
Dus de besjes waren als kleine glaasjes jenever voor de vogels...
Gevolg: merels die als kamikaze piloten tegen de auto's vlogen, tegen muren....

In Australië is het nu ook herfst, misschien zijn daar nu ook gegiste bessen te vinden. Het is een fenomeen die niet elk jaar plaats vindt, het weer heeft ook invloed.

[robinschaft]

Wat raar zeg, nooit gezien.
Hier een filmpje : http://video.nl.msn.com/watch/video/...ralie/5csfk59p