People in Ocean Beach and Point Loma are trying to understand why someone is shooting the endangered parrots that have become such a part of neighborhood life, as the last of three parrots shot in the last four days died Feb. 24. A video taken by SoCal Parrot, a Jamul-based wildlife rescue service, showed the bird limping around with a broken wing, the injuries caused by a pellet gun. Patricia Simpson and her neighbor found the bird and another parrot in the middle of the road in Point Loma. She says his mate was already dead. “I couldn’t stand to leave it there, and I picked it up,” she said. SoCal Parrot says someone has killed at least five parrots with a pellet gun this year. Investigators believe the same person killed the two parrots in Simpson’s neighborhood. She says it’s hard to see the birds with a bullseye on their backs. “Target practice? Games? I don’t know, but it’s just not right. It’s just very, very wrong,” Simpson said. SoCal Parrot says it’s also the start of “baby season,” so a lot of the birds might already have nests set up for their eggs. “They’re together,” Simpson said. “So if you kill one parrot, you are almost killing the second one.” SoCal Parrot will pursue felony animal cruelty charges against anyone caught shooting the parrots. The exotic birds are thought to have migrated to Southern California as Mexican deforestation drove them here. Another theory is that they used to be pets and that they’re part of many years’ abandonment by owners on the move. They’re one of more than 500 colorful bird species in the area. — 10 News