ESCH WC VAN & TAMIS WLM (2008) Predation on alien Ring-necked Parakeet Psittacula krameri by native birds. LIMOSA 81 (1): 27-29.

The exotic Ring-necked Parakeet Psittacula krameri has expanded enormously since its first breeding in The Netherlands in the early seventies. In 2006, about 5,000 individuals were recorded during roost counts. One possible explanation for its rapid increase is the 'escapefrom- enemy hypothesis' which suggests that exotic species are free from parasites and predators in their new surroundings, and therefore have an advantage over native species. Although this might initially have been the case for Ring-necked Parakeets in Europe, currently more and more cases of predation by Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus, Goshawk Accipiter gentilis, and Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus emerge. In this contribution we document, for the first time, the predation of a Ring-necked Parakeet by Tawny Owl Strix aluco, in a breeding colony in Voorburg, Zuid-Holland, in May 2006.

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