Monk Parakeet

Monk parakeet and quaker parrot are two names for the same bird, Myiopsitta monachus. Monk is the name used by most ornithologists and field guides, and it refers to the pale gray forehead, face, and breast, which frame the head like the hood of a monk's habit. The scientific name says the same thing twice: Myiopsitta combines the Greek word for mouse with the Latin for parrot, a nod to the mouse gray face, and monachus is Late Latin for monk. Quaker parrot, or quaker parakeet, is the name most used in the pet trade, probably because the plain gray bib recalls the sober dress of the early Quakers, although the exact origin is not recorded. In Spanish it goes by several names: cotorra argentina in Spain and much of Latin America, cotorra común in Argentina, and caturrita in Uruguay and southern Brazil. Three subspecies are recognized. A fourth population, the cliff parakeet of the Andean valleys of Bolivia, which nests in cliff crevices instead of trees, was split off as a separate species in 2015.

A wild monk parakeet is always green. The upperparts are bright green, the forehead, cheeks, and breast are pale gray with darker scalloping, the belly shades from light green to yellow, the flight feathers are dark blue, and the long tapering tail is green. The bill is pale orange. Adults measure about 29 centimeters from bill to tail tip, have a wingspan of about 48 centimeters, and weigh 95 to 120 grams, and females are only 5 to 10% smaller than males, so the sexes are practically impossible to tell apart by eye. The blue monk parakeets people search for are real, but they come from captive breeding, not from the wild. In a parrot, green feathers are the result of blue light scattered by the feather structure mixed with a yellow pigment. When a mutation removes that yellow, the bird looks blue. Breeders have also produced yellow and white birds, among other colors, and these mutations are sold as pets. Escaped blue or yellow birds sometimes turn up in wild flocks, but they are exceptions: wild populations are green.

The monk parakeet originates from the open woodlands, savannas, grasslands, and farmland of central and southern South America. Its native range covers Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, southern Brazil, and Bolivia, where it favors areas with scattered tall trees near crops, rivers, and towns, up to about 1,000 meters above sea level. It is very common there, and planted eucalyptus groves and farms have helped it spread. From the 1960s onward, huge numbers were exported as pets, and escaped or released birds founded wild colonies far away. In the United States, it was established in seven states by the early 1970s and in 15 by 1995, with the largest numbers in Florida and thriving colonies in Texas, New York, and Chicago. In Mexico it was first recorded in Mexico City in 1994 and 1995, and by 2015 it had been reported in 97 cities. It also lives wild in Puerto Rico, in Santiago de Chile, and in Europe, where Spain holds more than 80% of the feral birds and Brussels has had a colony since the 1970s. Most introduced populations live in cities, where parks, gardens, bird feeders, and tall structures give them food and nest sites all year.

What sets the monk parakeet apart from virtually every other parrot on Earth is its approach to nesting. Almost all parrots breed in tree hollows or burrows, but the monk parakeet and its close relative, the cliff parakeet, build their own nests, and the monk parakeet does it in the open, weaving sticks and twigs into a bulky structure high in a tree or on a utility pole, a light tower, or a cell phone mast. Each pair has its own chamber and entrance tunnel, and new pairs add chambers to the outside, so a colony nest keeps growing year after year until it can reach the size of a small car. The birds use it all year, not just for breeding, and sleep in it at night, which helps them survive cold winters. Clutches range from 1 to 11 white eggs; the female incubates while the male brings food, and about 20% of breeding units include one to three helpers, usually grown young from earlier broods. The nests are so solid that other animals move in too: pigeons, sparrows, American kestrels, yellow billed teal, and even squirrels have been found living in them.

Monk parakeets are opportunistic feeders with a broad and flexible diet. Seeds form the core of what they eat, but they also consume fruits, berries, leaf buds, and flowers depending on what is available in each season. In agricultural areas, flocks regularly visit fields of sunflowers, maize, sorghum, and other crops, which has brought them into conflict with farmers in both their native range and introduced regions. In cities, they take advantage of garden plants, bird feeders, and fruit trees. Studies in Spain and the United States have shown that urban populations rely heavily on ornamental plants and food left by people. Despite their reputation as crop raiders, the full extent of agricultural damage they cause is still debated, and impacts vary considerably depending on the region and the time of year.

Few birds are as socially complex or as vocal as the monk parakeet. Flocks remain together throughout the year, and individuals form strong bonds with specific partners and neighbors within the colony. Communication is constant: the birds use a wide range of loud, throaty calls, often written as quak or chape, plus harsh screeches, to signal alarm, coordinate movement, and keep in touch while feeding. Research suggests each bird has its own voice print, so colony members can recognize one another whatever call they use, and separate feral populations develop their own dialects, with at least three different ones around Milford, Connecticut. Their noise is one of the first things people notice about urban colonies. Monk parakeets are active during daylight hours, spending much of the day foraging in groups before returning to the communal nest in the evening. They are quick learners and show a curiosity that helps them adapt to new places. In captivity they are among the best talkers of the small parrots and can learn scores of words and phrases, though wild birds use their voices only to talk to each other.

Every wild monk parakeet colony outside South America began the same way: with pet birds that escaped or were set free. From the 1960s to the 1980s, huge numbers were caught in Argentina and Uruguay and shipped abroad for the pet trade, and the same traits that made them popular, their intelligence, adaptability, and tolerance of cold, let the escaped birds build nests, breed, and spread. Because of that, many governments now restrict them. In the United States, keeping one is outlawed in 13 states: California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. New York and Virginia require the birds to be banded or registered, Rhode Island requires a permit, Ohio allows them only if they cannot fly free, and Connecticut bans their sale and breeding. Spain, home to most of Europe's feral monk parakeets, has banned owning and trading them since 2013, when they were added to its list of invasive species, and Chile has classed them as harmful since 1997. Auckland in New Zealand banned their sale and breeding in 2022, and Western Australia prohibits keeping them. The lesson is simple: releasing a pet bird outdoors, even with good intentions, is exactly how an invasion starts.

The IUCN classifies the monk parakeet as Least Concern, reflecting a population that is very common and growing across much of its range. In its native South America the species faces no real threat. On the contrary, farmers in Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil have treated it as a crop pest since at least the time of Charles Darwin, who noted the damage it did, and it has been hunted and poisoned for decades without any sign of decline. Outside its native range, the picture is more complicated. Introduced populations have grown steadily since the 1970s: in Spain alone, Madrid counted 10,800 birds in 2015, Barcelona about 5,000, and Seville went from 1,200 in 2013 to 6,300 in 2021. Several countries now manage them as invasive. Concerns center on damage to crops and orchards, stick nests on electrical equipment that cause power outages and fire risk, and possible competition with native birds. Control methods range from nest removal, common in the United States, to trapping and culls in Spanish cities, and they often meet public resistance: in Chicago, residents of Hyde Park, including Mayor Harold Washington, defended their local colony. Research into their real ecological impact continues.