The MTA released a new video today commemorating its 3rd track project on Long Island.
I’m a mass transit buff so of course I had to watch this new video.
I wasn’t prepared, however, for what I saw about a minute and a half into the video — a wild Quaker Parrot — or, rather, a depiction of a wild Quaker Parrot on a large glass window at one of the new stations featured in the video. Look closely at the right pane!
Green body. Blue flight feathers. That strange 11-tail feather cluster. Yup — that’s our Brooklyn Parrot! (Of course, I don’t want to be provincial. It’s a Long Island Parrot if that’s how you want to think about things. In fact, one could argue that the parrots resided on Long Island before they moved to Brooklyn, at least in respect to the first bona fide sightings of them by John Bull were recorded there, not in Kings County).
Lots of other birds are featured on the window, including our much-derided pigeons, what appears to be a sparrow, a duck, and two indigenous songbirds. But it’s the parrot that stands out for me — one more sign that our wild parrots are finally getting a dollop of institutional support.
Invasive Species? Fuhgeddaboudit!
Good going, MTA — You’ve Got Parrot!
BTW I have no idea at which MTA/LIRR station this depiction of the Quaker occurs (other than it must be at one of the renovated stations along the new 3rd track). If you happen to know, please send an e-mail!