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- NATION, Page 25American NotesCALIFORNIAToo Much Fowl Play
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- 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.
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- Their presence has sparked a pitched battle between bird
- lovers and sleep lovers. Hoping to soothe ruffled feathers on
- all sides, the city council is willing to try behavior
- modification. Later this month, Iowa peafowl farmer Dennis Fett,
- who will collect $200 a day and expenses for his advice, will
- conduct seminars for frazzled residents on how they can cope
- with their troublesome flock. Then he will try to draw the
- birds, Pied Piper-style, to open parts of the city.
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