Avian Escapees and Budgie Snugglers

Abstract

Struck by the apparent ubiquity of pet-bird escapes in Australia, a country with over 50 unique species of native parrots, the author wrestles with the ethics of keeping birds in captivity for human pleasure, as well as the implications of caging birds as educational ambassadors for habitat loss and climate change. Flaco, the Eurasian eagle owl and New York Central Park Zoo escapee who lived a year of freedom before his untimely death, makes an appearance, as do many other lesser-known feathered individuals whose relationships with humans are no less complex.