California: Too Much Fowl Play

Too Much Fowl Play

Rolling Hills Estates has an urban pest problem. The varmint travels in packs, digs holes in lawns, eats flower gardens, poops around pools and spas and, worst of all, starts screeching as early as 4 a.m. For sheer irritation, rats, raccoons, skunks, pigeons and possums are no match for the more than 150 wild peacocks that infest this otherwise tranquil, posh Southern California community. The flock -- often 30 to 40 birds roosting in a single tree -- descends from six Indian peafowl released on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in 1924.

Their presence has sparked a pitched battle between bird lovers...

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