Parrots and Peacocks

There are many unexpected things you find living in SoCal. The sheer number of greasy, creepy actors, for instance, and the people who feed on them. Or the rampant and unapologetic corruption of the LA City Council (you'd think they'd be a little more discreet), or the surprisingly sophisticated cultural and arts scene that has nothing to do with making movies. But there is one thing that came as a complete surprise to me.
   The place is swarming with parrots and peacocks.
   Neither of these birds is native to the LA area, they're not even native to North America, but they're everywhere. No one is really certain where the parrots came from, the consensus seems to be that they were released from a local zoo during a particularly bad flood, but now this place is their home. It's mostly green ones around Pasadena and Arcadia, but you can find a few of the red and blue ones in South Pasadena. It's freaky to see them sitting on telephone lines like they were back in the Amazon.
   The peacocks are recent arrivals, and animal control officers are pretty sure they descend from escapees from the LA Arboretum. Peacocks have actually become a nuisance, and the city of Arcadia has made feeding them illegal and even has tips on how to get rid of them. I don't think they're good eatin', otherwise I'd have a few suggestions.