Alien menace or victim of xenophobia? The battle over Britain’s parakeets

Established in UK cities for decades and much loved for their green plumage, the Himalayan birds have been recast as an ecological threat. But is the idea of invasive species itself a problem? Before we saw a single parakeet, we heard them: a disembodied static that grew louder as we approached Hither Green cemetery in south-east London. It was an early evening in late June, and we had come to witness an invasion. By the time my friend and I reached the cemetery’s western edge, the clamour was all-encompassing. We hopped the fence and picked our way through the gravestones. Above us now were the birds themselves, their kryptonite-green plumage, scab-red beaks, pearly black collars a