After eating a fermented fruit in Australia

Drunken parrots are vulnerable to falling and predation

The reason why the phenomenon is restricted to red-winged parrots remains unknown.

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Drunken parrots have caused havoc in far northern Australia after eating fermented mango.

Broome veterinary surgeon Paul Murphy said the fallen tropical fruits were left to ferment in the Kimberley sun.

He explained, "We hear some reports of parrots hitting windows and staying on the ground for a long time, and they are vulnerable to cats and other predators."

The red-winged parrots were susceptible to the fermentable sugars in the sweet fruit, Murphy said. He added, "So far we have seen a few drunk birds," adding, "But there are many parrots, unfortunately, that do not reach the clinic because they die before people find them, and they usually suffer for two days due to various stages of malnutrition." Murphy told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the birds' "drunkenness" made them prone to bumping into objects and falling. It was not clear why red-winged parrots appeared as the only birds affected.

Its behavior is consistent with the ecosystem, said Michael Considine, from the University of Western Australia.

"Part of the role of the birds is to sow the seeds on behalf of the tree, and that is also a reward for them," he said. "It is clear that ethanol (which is in the fermented fruit) serves some kind of ecological value for the tree."

One of them commented: "I witnessed similar behavior with a flock of about 100 cockatoos" in eastern Australia, flipping on the ground, trying to fight with others.

• The "phenomenon of drunkenness" in birds made them vulnerable to crashing into things and falling.

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