Mystery as 'drunk' parrots litter Australian town

Mystery as 'drunk' parrots litter Australian town

SYDNEY — Hundreds of seemingly drunk parrots are falling out of trees
and the sky in a northern Australian town, mystifying veterinary
surgeons who are struggling to care for them.The brightly
coloured lorikeets are showing classic signs of drunkenness by losing
all coordination and passing out, and then cowering in cages as they
recover from their "hangovers"."They definitely seem like they're
drunk," said Lisa Hansen, a veterinary surgeon at the Ark Animal
Hospital in Palmerston, near Darwin."They fall out of trees...
and they're not so coordinated as they would normally be. They go to
jump and they miss the next perch."Hansen said nobody was sure
what was causing the symptoms, although it may be a plant they are
eating. Other theories include an outbreak of a mystery virus.She
said the hospital, which is seeking donations, was caring for about 30
birds at a time with eight arriving each day after being scooped up from
lawns and roadsides.The birds are given sweetened porridge and
fresh fruit -- the avian version of hangover food."It's probably
the equivalent of ice-cream and cans of coke for the lorikeets," Hansen
told AFP on Wednesday."They sit on the floor of the cage and rest
their heads on the side, or they curl up in the corner and hide under
the paper and block the rest of the world out."Hansen said
"drunk" lorikeets have been seen in Palmerston previously but never in
such numbers, adding that the birds can die without proper care.