The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill is the true story of a Bohemian St. Francis and his remarkable relationship with a flock of wild green-and-red parrots. Mark Bittner, a homeless street musician in San Francisco, falls in with the flock as he searches for meaning in his life, unaware that the wild parrots will bring him everything he needs. The film celebrates urban wildness, Bohemian and avian, and links the parrots' antics to human behavior. A surprise ending ties the themes together and completes Mark's search for meaning.

Although he is no scientist and this is not a "nature film," Mark becomes something of an expert himself as he consults local birders, and as he feeds, names, studies, and protects the cherry-headed conures - escaped pets who have begun to breed in the wilds of the city.