A post a week ago on the "missing" great Miami Macaws generated many responses, confirming that there are a lot of Miamians who have carved an enigmatic place for these large wild birds, non-native as they may be like the rest of us, that fly in pairs above Miami unhindered by traffic jams. When I asked, Where are the parrots, today? Readers quickly responded with the same concern.
I like dolphin and marlins and panthers-- creatures lending their names to our professional sports teams--, but most of us land-based bipeds have a more direct connection to the big birds. Other cities have named their sports teams after ravens or eagles, why not the Miami parrots or the macaws?
Now I understand how chattering green parrots can be viewed as comical representations of our own species. Those green parrots do remind me of our county commissioners behind the dais. (Some of them remind me more of manatees.) But one can't dismiss the parrot out of hand. I mean, how many eagles are in Philadelphia? Or panthers in Weston? The Miami macaws are beautiful and intelligent and colorful. They are long-lived, form long-term pairs, and they bicker and chatter in mid-flight, such a higher level of achievement than us stuck in traffic listening to talk radio.
So, I propose to rename one of our sports teams after the parrots or the macaws. We need a steering committee: do we have any volunteers or ideas how to put wings to this idea?
6 comments:
Spotted a pair of macaws flying over US-1 rush hour traffic this afternoon at 5:15 pm, South Miami near the Siam Lotus Room. They were moving a lot faster than was the traffic.
I'm all for the Miami Macaws!
I'm all for placing a couple loud Macaws at County Hall. Maybe wake up some of these commissioners that have long been asleep on the dias.
Parrots displace native species that might not be as pretty.
To the last anon:
True, the Maccaws displace natives, but they aren't nearly as problematic as the huge flocks of Monk Parrots (the smaller green and yellow - sometimes red parrots) who flock in large numbers and next in massive colonies on power substations and in large trees.
Even worse are the European Starlings and Asian Mynas which have huge flocks who's numbers are so immense that they are truly displacing other native birds.
The Maccaws are slow in reproducing and long lived, so they're easier to track and control their population if necessary.
Go Miami Macaws!
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