If you’ve been to the City by the Bay, I would venture a guess that when you think of birds, you probably come to pigeons. Maybe seagulls. There are plenty of both all over the place.

However, thanks to author Mark Bittner,  a whole lot of folks place parrots first when they think of birds in the City. His tale of discovery of this flock of wild birds along Telegraph Hill became a favorite book of many and even led to a fine documentary film by Judy Irving.

The City isn’t usually the tropical place one expects to find parrots. So their perch among the trees of Telegraph Hill has become something of a cause among some (not all) residents of the area. Knowing San Francisco wants to do what ever it can to encourage tourism -- now the number one business -- is it much of a surprise that the city government has gotten involved in preserving the bird’s habitat? Check out this story from SF Gate today. So far, it’s only a proposal, but stranger things have happened.

After all, this is San Francisco...