These parrots came to Los Angeles as pets – then went wild. Now scientists are unlocking their mysteries

Once escapees from the pet trade, Los Angeles's feral parrots have become a vibrant part of city life, and could even aid conservation in their native homelands

A morning mist hung over the palm trees as birds chattered and cars roared by on the streets of Pasadena. It was a scene that evoked a tropical island rather than a bustling city in north-east Los Angeles county.

It feels parrot-y," says Diego Blanco, a research assistant at Occidental College's Moore Laboratory of Zoology, nodding to the verdant flora that surrounds us: tall trees and ornamental bushes with berries.