Monk Parakeet
Wild Monk Parakeet in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Conservation status

Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
Subfamily: Psittacinae
Tribe: Arini
Genus: Myiopsitta
Bonaparte, 1854
Species: M. monachus
Binomial name
Myiopsitta monachus
(Boddaert, 1783)

The Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus), also known as the Quaker Parrot, is a species of parrot that originated in the temperate areas of Argentina and Brazil in South America. It is the only member of the genus Myiopsitta.

There are four subspecies:

* M. m. monachus, southeastern Brazil, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina
* M. m. calita, western and southern Argentina
* M. m. cotorra, southeastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina, and southern Brazil
* M. m. luchsi an isolated population in Bolivia which is smaller and may deserve species status.

This parrot is, on average, 29 cm long with a 48 cm wingspan, and weighs 100 g. Females tend to be 10-20% smaller. It has bright green upperparts. The forehead and breast are pale grey and the rest of the underparts are very-light green to yellow. The flight feathers are dark blue, and the tail is long and tapering. The bill is orange. The call is a loud and throaty graaa or skveet. Domestic breeds have produced colors other than the natural plumage; these include white, blue, and yellow in place of green.

The Monk Parakeet is the only parrot that builds a stick nest, in a tree or on a man-made structure, rather than using a hole in a tree. This gregarious species often breeds colonially, building a single large nest with separate entrances for each pair. In the wild, the colonies can become quite large, with pairs occupying separate "apartments" in nests that can reach the size of a small automobile. These nests can attract many other tenants including birds of prey such as the Spot-winged Falconet, ducks such as the Speckled Teal and even mammals. Their 5-12 eggs hatch in about 24 days.

Unusually for a parrot, Monk Parakeet pairs occasionally have helper individuals, often a grown offspring, which assists with feeding the young (see kin selection).

Monk Parakeets are highly intelligent, social birds. Those kept as pets routinely develop large vocabularies. They have been described as one of the top ten "talking" bird species, able to learn scores of words and phrases http://www.butnowyouknow.com/oatmeal.html]. This species is considered especially adept at learning to "talk", only the African Grey Parrot having a better reputation for doing so.

The lifespan of Monk Parakeets has been quoted to be from 15-20 years [1], to 25-30 years [2].

As an introduced species
Self-sustaining feral populations have been recorded in seven US states, also in Europe, Israel, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, the Canary Islands and Japan. As it is an open woodlands species, it adapts readily to urban areas.

In Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, Monk Parakeets are regarded as major agricultural pests (as Charles Darwin noted). Their population explosion in South American rural areas seems to be associated with the expansion of eucalyptus forestry for paper pulp production, which offers the bird the opportunity to build protected nests in artificial forests where there is small ecological competition from other species. In areas where they have been introduced, some fear that they will harm crops and native species. Evidence of the harm of these birds in introduced areas is disputed, and many people oppose killing a charismatic bird, but there have been local bans and eradication programs in some areas of the USA. Due to its invasive species status, a number of states outlaw either importation, sale, release, or mere possession of a monk parakeet. [3] [4]


Brazil

The species has in recent years expanded its range in Brazil, where there is now a self-sustaining population in the downtown area of Rio de Janeiro. Since this expansion concerns discontinuous areas, far from the bird's historical range, it is most probably a consequence of escapes from the pet trade. In Rio, the bird can be easily seen at the Aterro do Flamengo gardens - where it nests on palm trees and feeds on their fruit; the Rio birds seem to favor nesting amid the leaves of coconut palm trees - as well as in the vicinity of the neighboring domestic flight terminal, the Santos Dumont Airport. Outside the USA, introduced populations do not appear to raise similar controversy, presumably because of smaller numbers of birds, or because their settlement in urban areas does not pose a threat to agricultura


United States

The Monk Parakeet was brought to the United States in the late 1960s as a pet. Many escaped or were intentionally released, and populations were allowed to proliferate. By the early 1970s, it was established in seven states, and by 1995 it had spread to eight more. There are now thought to be approximately 100,000 in Florida alone.

As one of the few temperate-zone parrots, the Monk Parakeet is more able than most to survive cold climates, and colonies exist as far north as New York City, Chicago, Cincinnati, coastal Rhode Island and Connecticut, and southwestern Washington. This hardiness makes this species second only to the Rose-ringed Parakeet amongst parrots as a successful introduced species.

In addition they have found a home within Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York after an accidental release decades ago[5]. While the grounds crew initially tried to destroy the unsightly nests at the entrance gate, they no longer do so, because the presence of the parrots has reduced the number of pigeons nesting within it. The management's decision was based on a comparative chemical analysis of pigeon feces (which destroy brownstone structures) and Monk Parakeet feces (which have no ill effect). Oddly then, the Monk Parakeets are in effect preserving this historic structure.

Brooklyn College uses it as an "unofficial" mascot—it features on the masthead of its student magazine—as a result of the colony the species has established in its campus grounds.


Spain

Monk Parakeets can be seen in Madrid, Barcelona, Cadiz, Valencia, Malaga, and the Canary Islands. In Madrid, they especially frequent the Ciudad Universitaria (university campus). They are a common site in Barcelona parks, often as numerous as pigeons. They form substantial colonies in Parc de la Ciutadella, Parc de la Barceloneta, and in smaller city parks such as Jardins Josep Truetta in Poble Nou.

References

* BirdLife International (2004). Myiopsitta monachus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern.
* "National Geographic" Field Guide to the Birds of North America ISBN 0-7922-6877-6
* Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol 4, Josep del Hoyo editor, ISBN 84-87334-22-9
* "National Audubon Society" The Sibley Guide to Birds, by David Allen Sibley, ISBN 0-679-45122-6
* "Parrots Have Colonized the Wilds of Brooklyn" Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/27/AR2006122701474.html
* "Parrots In The City" One Bird's Struggle for a Place on the Planet, by Mattie Sue Athan, JoAnn and Jon-Mark Davey, http://parrotsinthecity.com ISBN 159113563X