These are SA’s four worst invasive bird species

The Indian house crow, the common myna, the Mallard duck and the rose-ringed parakeet are the four worst aerial invaders to have taken wing in South Africa, according to the department of forestry, fisheries and the environment.

The Indian house crow, which hitchhiked into South Africa through ports in Durban in about 1970 and Cape Town in 1991, preys on eggs and nestlings of native birds and eats small animals. “It mobs humans and pets [and] occasionally destroys vegetable gardens in informal settlements,” said departmental spokesperson Albi Modise.