Tony Avella Wants to Save the Brooklyn Parrots

Councilmember Tony Avella is a friend to animals: pushing a bill to outlaw horse-drawn carriages, attending National Pigeon Day ceremonies, fighting foie gras, etc. Now he's drafting a bill to protect the wild Quaker Parrots of Brooklyn, which inexplicably moved here from Argentina years ago and are beloved by local naturalists. (Here is a video showing the parrots playfully beating each other up -- see, they've adapted!) Avella's bill would outlaw the parrots' capture and relocate the endangered ones. The Daily News finds an opponent of the bill, Rosalie Rosenthal of Manhattan Beach, whose "home lost power last year after the birds built nests on nearby Con Ed electrical equipment." "What, they don't have anything better to do?" she asks.