What to think when I saw two of these outside my home office window? I thought someone had let loose a parrot.

However, with a little Googling, I discovered these are wild Peach-Faced Lovebirds. Although they’re native to southwest Africa, apparently years ago an aviary released a bunch of them into the wild here in the Phoenix area. Come to find out they love the dry, arid climate and began breeding like airborne bunnies over the years. There are now several hundred (probably more) in and around this area of Arizona, but still an uncommon sight for an area the size of metropolitan Phoenix.

Fun birds to watch, and there are two that seem to enjoy hanging out at my house to feed on a sock full of thistle seeds I have hanging in the yard. Click on any of the thumbnails to display larger versions.