Monk parakeet

The monk parakeet was described by French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, in 1780 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux.{{ cite book | last=Buffon | first=Georges-Louis Leclerc de | author-link=Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon | year=1780 | title=Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux | volume=11 | place=Paris | publisher=De L'Imprimerie Royale | pages=206–207 | chapter=La perruche souris | language=fr | chapter-url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42410131 }} The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle, which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text.{{ cite book | last1=Buffon | first1=Georges-Louis Leclerc de | author1-link=Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon | last2=Martinet | first2=François-Nicolas | author2-link=François-Nicolas Martinet | last3=Daubenton | first3=Edme-Louis | author3-link=Edme-Louis Daubenton | last4=Daubenton | first4=Louis-Jean-Marie | author4-link=Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton | year=1765–1783 | chapter=Perruche à poitrine grise | title=Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle | volume=8 | place=Paris | publisher=De L'Imprimerie Royale | at=Plate 768 | chapter-url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35218431 }} Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name, but in 1783, Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Psittacus monachus in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées.{{cite book | last=Boddaert | first=Pieter | author-link=Pieter Boddaert | year=1783 | title=Table des planches enluminéez d'histoire naturelle de M. D'Aubenton : avec les denominations de M.M. de Buffon, Brisson, Edwards, Linnaeus et Latham, precedé d'une notice des principaux ouvrages zoologiques enluminés | place=Utrecht | page=48, Number 768 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27822668 | language=fr }} As Buffon did not specify the origin of his specimen, in 1937 the American ornithologist James Peters assigned the type location as Montevideo, Uruguay.{{ cite book | editor-last=Peters | editor-first=James Lee | editor-link=James L. Peters | year=1937 | title=Check-list of Birds of the World | volume=3 | publisher=Harvard University Press | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=200 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14477915 }} The monk parakeet is now placed in the genus Myiopsitta that was introduced by French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854.{{ cite journal | last=Bonaparte | first=Charles Lucien | author-link=Charles Lucien Bonaparte | year=1854 | title=Tableau des perroquets | journal=Revue et Magasin de Zoologie Pure et Appliquée | series=2nd | volume=6 | pages=145–158 [150] | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13681221 }}{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | year=2019 | title=Parrots, cockatoos | work=World Bird List Version 9.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/parrots/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=11 August 2019 }} The genus name combines the Ancient Greek mus, muos meaning "mouse" and the Neo-Latin psitta meaning "parrot", alluding to the mouse-grey face and underparts. The specific epithet monachus is Late Latin for a "monk".{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url=https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n259 259], 263 }}

The monk parakeet is one of two species in the genus Myiopsitta, the other being the cliff parakeet (Myiopsitta luchsi). The latter was previously treated as a subspecies of the Monk Parakeet. Due to morphological and behavioural differences, and geographical dissimilarities, the International Ornithological Committee elevated the cliff parakeet to species status in 2015.{{cite web |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/updates/species-updates/ |title=IOC Version 5.1 (Jan 15, 2015) |author= |date=15 January 2015 |website=IOC World Bird List |access-date=2 December 2024}} BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World followed suit in 2020 and the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society in late 2024.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 5. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v5_Dec20.zip [.xls zipped 1 MB].Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 18 November 2024. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved 26 November 2024 As of late 2024 the Clements taxonomy retains the cliff parakeet as a subspecies of the monk parakeet.Clements, J. F., P.C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, M. Smith, and C. L. Wood. 2024. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2024. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved October 23, 2024 The monk and cliff parakeets' elevational ranges apparently do not overlap, so they are thus entirely, but just barely, allopatric.

Three subspecies are recognized:

• M. m. monachus (Boddaert, 1783) is found in Argentina from southeastern Santiago del Estero Province throughout the Río Salado and lower Paraná basins to Buenos Aires Province and Uruguay; it is the largest subspecies.
• M. m. calita (Boddaert, 1783) is found in the Andean foothills up to 1,000 m above mean sea level, from southeastern Bolivia (Santa Cruz and Tarija departments) to Paraguay and northwestern Argentina, then west of the range of monachus, extending into the lowlands again in Río Negro and possibly Chubut provinces.

:Smaller than monachus, wings more prominently blue, grey of head darker.

• M. m. cotorra (Finsch, 1868) is found in southwestern Brazil (Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, possibly Rio Grande do Sul){{cite journal|last1=Amorim|first1=James Faraco|last2=Piacentini|first2=Vítor de Queiroz|year=2006|title=Novos registros de aves raras em Santa Catarina, Sul do Brasil, incluindo os primeiros registros documentados de algumas espécies para o Estado|trans-title=New records of rare birds, and first reports of some species, in the state of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil|journal=Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia|volume=14|issue=2|pages=145–149|language=pt, en|url=http://www.ararajuba.org.br/sbo/ararajuba/artigos/Volume142/ara142not1.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217155316/http://www.ararajuba.org.br/sbo/ararajuba/artigos/Volume142/ara142not1.pdf|archive-date=17 December 2008}} ([http://www.ararajuba.org.br/sbo/ararajuba/artigos/Volume142/ara142not1sup.pdf electronic supplement] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217155321/http://www.ararajuba.org.br/sbo/ararajuba/artigos/Volume142/ara142not1sup.pdf |date=17 December 2008 }}, PDF) throughout the Río Paraguay and middle Paraná basins, as well as the Gran Chaco. It is essentially identical to M. m. calita, but reported as less yellow below and brighter overall.

The subspecies' ranges meet in the general area of Paraguay, and there they are insufficiently delimited. The distinctness and delimitation of M. m. calita and M. m. cotorra especially require further study.

File:Lora Myiopsitta en un sauce de Uruguay.jpg

{{external media

| topic =

| audio1 = [https://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/OOECIWCSWV/XC272943-Monk%20Parakeet%20calls%20A.mp3 Monk Parakeet bird call may be heard here], from [https://www.xeno-canto.org/explore?query=Myiopsitta+monachus&dir=0&order=loc&pg=1 xeno-canto.org], retrieved 1.08.2018

}}

The nominate subspecies of this parrot is {{convert|29|cm|in|abbr=on}} long on average, with a {{convert|48|cm|in|adj=on}} wingspan, and weighs {{convert|100|g|oz|abbr=on}}. Females tend to be 10–20% smaller, but can only be reliably sexed by DNA or feather testing. Monk parakeets display very subtle sexual dimorphism in the colouration of their crown and wing coverts, but this is not noticeable to the human eye.{{Cite journal |last1=Morales |first1=Macarena |last2=Gigena |first2=Deysi J. |last3=Benitez-Vieyra |first3=Santiago M. |last4=Valdez |first4=Diego J. |date=2020 |title=Subtle sexual plumage colour dimorphism and size dimorphism in a South American colonial breeder, the Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) |journal=Avian Research |volume=11 |issue=18 |doi=10.1186/s40657-020-00204-x|doi-access=free |hdl=11336/115465 |hdl-access=free }} It has bright-green upperparts. The forehead and breast are pale grey with darker scalloping and the rest of the underparts are very light-green to yellow. The remiges are dark blue, and the tail is long and tapering. The bill is orange. The call is a loud and throaty chape(-yee) or quak quaki{{not a typo|reason=bird sound}} quak-wi quarr, and screeches skveet{{not a typo|reason=bird sound}}.{{cite book|last=Collar|first=Nigel J. |year=1997|editor-last= del Hoyo|editor-first=Josep|editor2=Elliott, Andrew|editor3= Sargatal, Jordi |title=Handbook of Birds of the World |volume=4: Sandgrouse to Cuckoos |publisher= Lynx Edicions|location= Barcelona |isbn=84-87334-22-9}}{{cite book|last1=Juniper|first1= Tony |last2=Parr|first2= Mike |year=1998|title=Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World|pages= 475–476, plate 62|series=Helm Identification Guides|publisher=Christopher Helm|location= London|isbn= 1-873403-40-2}}

Domestic breeds in colours other than the natural plumage have been produced. These include birds with white, blue, and yellow in place of green.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} As such colouration provides less camouflage, feral birds are usually of wild-type colouration.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

File:Myiopsitta monachus -nests -Zaragoza -Spain-8.jpg |alt=Nests in Zaragoza, Spain]]

File:Myiopsitta monachus -Santiago, Chile -nest-8.jpg |alt=Birds and their nest in Santiago, Chile]]

File:Myiopsitta monachus MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.148.13.jpg

The monk parakeet and the cliff parakeet are the only two parrot species outside some members of the African lovebirds (Agapornis sp.){{Cite journal |last=Eberhard |first=Jessica R. |date=1998 |title=Evolution of nest-building behavior in Agapornis parrots |journal=The Auk |volume=115 |issue=2 |pages=455–464 |doi=10.2307/4089204|jstor=4089204 }} that build nests. Monk and cliff parakeets are unique among even nesting parrots for their construction of large, external nests in trees or manmade structures instead of using tree cavities.{{Cite journal |last=Eberhard |first=Jessica R. |date=1998 |title=Breeding biology of the monk parakeet |journal=Wilson Bulletin |volume=110 |issue=4 |pages=463–473}}

The monk parrot is a gregarious species which often breeds colonially, building a single large nest with separate entrances for each pair.{{Cite journal |last1=Butcher |first1=E.H. |last2=Martin |first2=L.F. |last3=Martella |first3=M.B. |last4=Navarro |first4=J.L. |date=1990 |title=Social behaviour and population dynamics of the monk parakeet |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284944251 |journal=Proceedings of the 20th International Ornithological Conference |pages=681–689}} It is not uncommon, however, for pairs or individuals to nest outside of colonies, especially during the breeding season. In the wild, the colonies can become quite large, with pairs occupying separate "apartments" in composite nests that can reach the size of a small automobile.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} These nests can attract many other tenants, including some which cohabit with the monk parakeets.{{Cite journal |last1=Hernandez-Brito |first1=Dailos |last2=Carrete |first2=Marina |last3=Blanco |first3=Guillermo |last4=Romero-Vidal |first4=Pedro |last5=Senar |first5=Juan Carlos |last6=Mori |first6=Emiliano |last7=White, Jr. |first7=Thomas H. |last8=Luna |first8=Alvaro |last9=Tella |first9=Jose L. |date=2021 |title=The role of monk parakeets as nest-site facilitators in their native and invaded areas |journal=Biology |volume=10 |issue=7 |pages=683 |doi=10.3390/biology10070683|doi-access=free |pmid=34356538 |pmc=8301312 }} These tenants include many other birds, such as pigeons, sparrows, American kestrels, and yellow-billed teal, but mammals like red squirrels may also occupy a nest.{{Cite journal |last1=Port |first1=Jeffrey L. |last2=Brewer |first2=Glenda L. |date=2004 |title=Use of monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) nests by speckled teal (Anas flavirostris) in eastern Argentina |url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/on/v015n02/p0209-p0218.pdf |journal=Ornithologica Neotropical |volume=15 |pages=209–218}}

Their 1–11 white eggs are incubated continuously by the female, during which time the male will provide her with food.{{Cite journal |last1=Navarro |first1=Joaquin L. |last2=Martella |first2=Monica B. |last3=Butcher |first3=Enrique H. |date=1992 |title=Breeding season and productivity of monk parakeets in Cordoba, Argentina |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4163182 |journal=The Wilson Bulletin |volume=104 |issue=3 |pages=413–424|jstor=4163182 }} Unusually for a parrot, monk parakeet pairs occasionally have helper individuals, often grown offspring, which assist with feeding the young (see kin selection).{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

Monk parakeets have an average lifespan in their natural environment of 6 years.{{Cite web |title=Monk Parakeet Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology |url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Monk_Parakeet/overview |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=www.allaboutbirds.org |language=en}} However, birds in captivity can reach 10 – 20 years.{{Cite web |title=Monk Parrots |url=https://tsusinvasives.org/home/database/myiopsitta-monachus |access-date=18 September 2024 |website=Texas Invasive Species Institute |publisher=The Texas State University System}}{{Cite journal |last=Thompson |first=Eric |date=2024 |title=A Year as a Monk Parakeet |url=https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2214&context=hc_sas_etds |journal=Ph.D. Thesis - Theses and Dissertations, City University of New York.}}

Monk parakeets probably have individual voice prints that allow them to recognize each other, independently from the used call type.{{Cite journal |last1=Smeele |first1=Simeon Q. |last2=Senar |first2=Juan Carlos |last3=Aplin |first3=Lucy M. |last4=McElreath |first4=Mary Brooke |date=2023-10-04 |title=Evidence for vocal signatures and voice-prints in a wild parrot |journal=Royal Society Open Science |language=en |volume=10 |issue=10 |doi=10.1098/rsos.230835 |pmid=37800160 |pmc=10548090 |bibcode=2023RSOS...1030835S |issn=2054-5703}}

In both their native South America, as well as areas where they have been introduced, monk parakeets are among the most destructive birds for crops.{{Cite journal |last=Mott |first=Donald F. |date=1973 |title=Monk parakeet damage to crops in Uruguay and its control |url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdmbirdcontrol/102 |journal=Bird Control Seminars Proceedings |volume=102 |pages=79–81}}{{Cite journal |last1=Castro |first1=Jorge |last2=Saez |first2=Carmen |last3=Molina-Morales |first3=Mercedes |date=2022 |title=The monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) as a potential pest for agriculture in the Mediterranean basin |journal=Biological Invasions |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=895–903 |doi=10.1007/s10530-021-02702-5 |doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal |last1=Senar |first1=J.C. |last2=Domenech |first2=J. |last3=Arroyo |first3=L. |last4=Torre |first4=I. |last5=Gordo |first5=O. |date=2016 |title=An evaluation of monk parakeet damage to crops in the metropolitan area of Barcelona |journal=Animal Biodiversity and Conservation |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=141–145 |doi=10.32800/abc.2016.39.0141 |hdl-access=free |hdl=10261/133021}} Several countries have implemented measures to control the spread of feral populations; nest removal is a common practice in the United States,{{Cite web |last1=Avery |first1=Michael L. |last2=Lindsay |first2=James R. |date=November 2016 |title=Monk Parakeets |url=https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/Monk-Parakeet.pdf |access-date=24 June 2024 |website=U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service - Wildlife Services}} and the United Kingdom's Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is planning to remove monk parakeet colonies, citing threats to infrastructure and potential crop damage.{{cite news |date=24 April 2011 |title=Defra to remove problem monk parakeets from wild |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13181503 |access-date=25 April 2011 |website=BBC News}}

Feral populations are often descended from very small founder populations.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} Being as social and intelligent as they are, monk parakeets develop some cultural traditions, namely vocal dialects that differ between groups.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} In populations descended from a large number of birds, a range of "dialects" exists. If the founder population is small, however, a process similar to genetic drift may occur if prominent founders vocalize in an unusual "dialect", with this particular way of vocalizing becoming established in the resulting feral colony. For example, no fewer than three different "dialects" occur among the feral monk parrots of the Milford, Connecticut, metropolitan area.{{cite journal |last1=Buhrmann-Deever |first1=Susannah C. |last2=Rappaport |first2=Amy R. |last3=Bradbury |first3=Jack W. |year=2007 |title=Geographic variation in contact calls of feral North American populations of the monk parakeet |journal=The Condor |volume=109 |issue=2 |pages=389–398 |doi=10.1650/0010-5422(2007)109[389:GVICCO]2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=86107569 |doi-access=free}}

In its native range, the monk parakeet is very common. In Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, monk parakeets are regarded as major agricultural pests (as noted by Charles Darwin, among others).{{Cite journal |last1=Russello |first1=Michael A. |last2=Avery |first2=Michael L. |last3=Wright |first3=Timothy F. |date=2008 |title=Genetic evidence links invasive monk parakeet populations in the United States to the international pet trade |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=217 |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-8-217|doi-access=free |pmid=18652686 |pmc=2517076 |bibcode=2008BMCEE...8..217R }} 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 ecological competition from other species is limited.

File:A Lovebirds A.JPG|alt=Parc de la Ciutadella of Barcelona, Spain]]

File:Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) leaving its nest ... (26562945892).jpg

File:019 4290res.jpg|alt=Ga'ash, Israel]]

Feral populations have been recorded in Europe, the Americas, North Africa, the Middle East,{{Cite book |last1=Calzada Preston |first1=Carlos E. |title=Naturalized Parrots of the World |last2=Pruett-Jones |first2=Stephen |last3=Eberhard |first3=Jessica |date=2021 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=9780691204413 |pages=173–192 |chapter=Chapter 11: Monk parakeets as a globally naturalized species}} and East and Southeast Asia.{{cite web |date=22 February 2013 |title=Monk Parakeets in Singapore |url=https://besgroup.org/2013/02/22/monk-parakeets-in-singapore/ |access-date=2021-01-08 |publisher=Bird Ecology Study Group |language=en-GB}}

File:MonkParakeetsSantaPonsa.jpg|alt=Santa Ponsa, Majorca, Spain]]

It is estimated that monk parakeets in Spain account for more than 80% of Europe's feral population.{{Cite journal |last1=Postigo |first1=Jose-Luis |last2=Strubbe |first2=Diederik |last3=Mori |first3=Emiliano |last4=Ancillotto |first4=Leonardo |last5=Carneiro |first5=Ines |last6=Latsoudis |first6=Panagiotis |last7=Menchetti |first7=Mattia |last8=Parau |first8=Liviu G. |last9=Parrott |first9=Dave |last10=Reino |first10=Luis |last11=Weiserbs |first11=Anne |last12=Senar |first12=Juan Carlos |date=2019 |title=Mediterranean versus Atlantic monk parakeets Myiopsitta monachus: towards differentiated management at the European scale |journal=Pest Management Science |volume=75 |issue=4 |pages=915–922 |doi=10.1002/ps.5320 |pmid=30620129}} As an invasive species, it harms local fauna such as pigeons and sparrows, as well as crops. Spain has outlawed the possession and trafficking of monk parakeets since 2013.{{cite web |last=Planelles |first=Manuel |date=12 November 2015 |title=Monk parakeets now seen as a plague in major Spanish cities |url=https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2015/11/11/inenglish/1447256002_327689.html |access-date=27 December 2020 |language=en |newspaper=Diario El País}} Madrid had the greatest population of monk parakeets in Europe, with 10,800 as of June 2015,{{cite news |last=Ansede |first=Manuel |date=5 June 2018 |title=Así se llenó España de cotorras |url=https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/06/03/ciencia/1528060036_486087.html?rel=mas |access-date=3 August 2018 |newspaper=Diario El País |language=es}} and the population in Barcelona was estimated at 5000 in the same year.Senar, Conroy & Montalvo (2021). In: S. Pruett-Jones (ed). Naturalized Parrots of the World: Distribution, Ecology, and Impacts of the World's Most Colorful Colonizers. Princeton: Princeton University Press Between 2013 and 2021, the monk parakeet population in Seville increased from 1200 to 6300 individuals.{{Cite journal |last1=Hernandez-Brito |first1=Dailos |last2=Carrete |first2=Martina |last3=Tella |first3=Jose L. |date=2022 |title=Annual Censuses and Citizen Science Data Show Rapid Population Increases and Range Expansion of Invasive Rose-Ringed and Monk Parakeets in Seville, Spain |journal=Animals |volume=12 |issue=6 |pages=677 |doi=10.3390/ani12060677 |pmc=8944835 |pmid=35327075 |doi-access=free}}

Other locations with documented populations include:

• Canary Islands
• Portugal{{Cite journal |last1=Strubbe |first1=Diederik |last2=Matthysen |first2=Erik |date=2009 |title=Establishment success of invasive ring-necked and monk parakeets in Europe |journal=Journal of Biogeography |volume=36 |issue=12 |pages=2264–2278 |bibcode=2009JBiog..36.2264S |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2699.2009.02177.x}}
• Balearic Islands
• France
• Sardinia
• Italy
• Greece
• Great Britain
• Belgium
• Netherlands

In Greece, monk parakeets have established breeding colonies in the National Garden, Athens.{{cite web |date=January 2013 |title=A real urban "jungle" |url=http://greekbirding.blogspot.co.il/2013/01/a-real-urban-jungle.html |website=Greek Birding |type=blog}}

{{anchor|name=UK_feral_Monk_parakeet_anchor}}

In the United Kingdom, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced plans in 2011 to control them, countering the threat to infrastructure, crops, and native British wildlife by trapping and rehoming, removing nests, and shooting when necessary.{{cite news |last=Gray |first=Louise |date=25 April 2011 |title=Wild parakeets living in Britain to be shot before they become a nuisance |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/8471075/Wild-parakeets-living-in-Britain-to-be-shot-before-they-become-a-nuisance.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427124750/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/8471075/Wild-parakeets-living-in-Britain-to-be-shot-before-they-become-a-nuisance.html |archive-date=27 April 2011 |access-date=5 May 2011 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph}}

Groups of monk parakeets can be found in the Belgian capital city Brussels and its surrounding areas. They have been living in the wild at least since the 1970s.

: {{Cite journal |last1=Borowski |first1=Zbigniew |last2=Zub |first2=Karol |last3=Jacob |first3=Jens |date=2019-03-08 |title=Applied research for optimized vertebrate management: 11thEuropean Vertebrate Pest Management Conference |journal=Pest Management Science |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |volume=75 |issue=4 |pages=885–886 |doi=10.1002/ps.5302 |issn=1526-498X |pmid=30848566 |s2cid=73506310 |doi-access=free}}

:

: This review cites this research.

:

: {{cite journal |last1=Postigo |first1=Jose-Luis |last2=Strubbe |first2=Diederik |last3=Mori |first3=Emiliano |last4=Ancillotto |first4=Leonardo |last5=Carneiro |first5=Inês |last6=Latsoudis |first6=Panagiotis |last7=Menchetti |first7=Mattia |last8=Pârâu |first8=Liviu G |last9=Parrott |first9=Dave |last10=Reino |first10=Luís |last11=Weiserbs |first11=Anne |last12=Senar |first12=Juan Carlos |date=April 2019 |title=Mediterranean versus Atlantic monk parakeets Myiopsitta monachus : towards differentiated management at the European scale |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330250031 |journal=Pest Management Science |volume=75 |issue=4 |pages=915–922 |doi=10.1002/ps.5320 |pmid=30620129 |s2cid=58646054 |access-date=10 April 2023}}

Monk parakeet populations have previously been reported in Denmark, Germany,{{cite web |date=20 December 2018 |title=The Mysterious Story of the Green Parrots in Düsseldorf | Life in Düsseldorf |url=https://www.lifeinduesseldorf.com/duesseldorf-green-parrots/}} Austria, and Czechia, but have not survived; the relatively colder weather in these countries likely contributes to these failed invasions. Other populations in the U.K., France, and the Netherlands have also similarly declined into extirpation.

Populations have been documented in:

• Israel{{Cite web |date=2019-07-31 |title=Non-native parrots causing substantial damage in Israel |url=https://www.jpost.com/health-science/non-native-parrots-cause-substantial-damage-in-israel-less-so-in-europe-597277 |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=Postigo |first=Jose-Luis |last2=Shwartz |first2=Assaf |last3=Strubbe |first3=Diederik |last4=Muñoz |first4=Antonio-Román |date=Feb 2017 |title=Unrelenting spread of the alien monk parakeet Myiopsitta monachus in Israel. Is it time to sound the alarm? |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27368082 |journal=Pest Management Science |volume=73 |issue=2 |pages=349–353 |doi=10.1002/ps.4349 |issn=1526-4998 |pmid=27368082|hdl=10067/1368080151162165141 |hdl-access=free }}

Populations have been documented in:

• Canada{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Burgio |first1=Kevin R. |last2=van Rees |first2=Charles B. |last3=Block |first3=Kali E. |last4=Pyle |first4=Peter |last5=Patten |first5=Michael A. |last6=Spreyer |first6=Mark F. |last7=Bucher |first7=Enrique H. |title=Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) |version=1.0 |encyclopedia=Birds of the World |publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology |date=2020 |doi=10.2173/bow.monpar.01 |access-date=16 February 2025 |language=en |url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/monpar/1.0/introduction |url-access=subscription |chapter=Distribution |chapter-url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/monpar/1.0/distribution |chapter-url-access=subscription}}
• Mexico
• Brazil
• Chile
• BahamasAvery, Michael L. and Shiels, Aaron B., "Monk and Rose-Ringed Parakeets" (2018). USDA National Wildlife Research Center - Staff Publications. 2037. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc/2037
• United States
• Cayman Islands
• Puerto Rico{{Cite journal |last1=Falcon |first1=Wilfredo |last2=Tremblay |first2=Raymond L. |date=2018 |title=From the cage to the wild: introductions of Psittaciformes to Puerto Rico |journal=PeerJ |volume=6 |pages=e5669 |doi=10.7717/peerj.5669 |pmc=6214232 |pmid=30397538 |doi-access=free}}

The species has in recent years expanded its range in Brazil, where a self-sustaining population occurs in the downtown area of Rio de Janeiro. Since this population occurs far from the bird's original range in Brazil – it was only found in the far south and southwest – it is most probably a consequence of escapees from the pet trade. In Rio de Janeiro, 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 favour nesting amid the leaves of coconut palm trees, and in the vicinity of the neighboring domestic flight terminal, the Santos Dumont Airport and in the gardens of Quinta da Boa Vista, where communal nests roughly 1 m in diameter have been seen.{{cite book |first=José Felipe |last=Monteiro Pereira |title=Aves e pássaros comuns do Rio de Janeiro |year=2008 |location=Rio de Janeiro, AG |publisher=Technical Books Editora |isbn=978-85-61368-00-5 |page=66}} In Santa Catarina State, probable escapees have been reported on occasion for quite some time, and a feral population seems to have established itself in Florianópolis early in the first decade of the 21st century when birds were observed feeding right next to the highway in the Rio Vermelho-Vargem Grande area.

A breeding population on the island of Eleuthera was present from 1985 to the mid 1990s, but had disappeared by 1996, possibly due to the impact of hurricanes.

In 1984, six monk parakeets were released from a pet store in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, a suburb of Montreal, Quebec; in the following few years, individual birds continued to be sighted in the Montreal area. In May 1987, monk parakeets were recorded breeding in Canada for the first time in the Montreal suburb of Laval; this constitutes the northernmost continental breeding record for the species.

The monk parakeet was first recorded in Mexico City between 1994 – 1995.{{Cite journal |last1=Hobson |first1=Elizabeth A. |last2=Smith-Vidaurre |first2=Grace |last3=Salinas-Melgoza |first3=Alejandro |date=2017 |title=History of nonnative Monk Parakeets in Mexico |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=12 |issue=9 |pages=e0184771 |doi=10.5281/zenodo.832314|pmid=28926594 }} As of 2015, monk parakeets have been reported in 97 Mexican cities, and in all regions of the country.

Following a 2008 ban on the capture and sale of native parrot species, the legal pet market pivoted to the sale of monk parakeets, which likely increased the number of escapees and subsequent feral populations.{{cite journal |year=2011 |title=Pretty, but dangerous! Records of non-native monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) in Mexico |url=http://www.ibiologia.unam.mx/barra/publicaciones/revista%2082_3/34-739.pdf |journal=Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad |volume=82 |pages=1053–1056}} Sometimes, the head and breast feathers of monk parakeets are dyed yellow to deceive uninformed buyers, mimicking the endangered yellow-headed amazon.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

Thousands of monk parakeets were imported to the United States between the 1960s and the 1980s as pets.{{cite web |last=Lund |first=Nicholas |date=26 June 2015 |title=The monk parakeet: A jailbird who made good |publisher=Audubon Society |url=http://www.audubon.org/news/the-monk-parakeet-jailbird-who-made-good |access-date=9 December 2016}} Many escaped or were intentionally released, and populations were allowed to proliferate. By the early 1970s, M. monachus was established in seven states, and by 1995, it had spread to eight more. In Florida alone, estimates range from 150,000 to 500,000.{{cite news |last1=Gorman |first1=James |date=8 September 2004 |title=Birds do it, bees do it ... |agency=New York Times News Service |newspaper=San Diego Union Tribune |url=http://legacy.sandiegouniontribune.com/uniontrib/20040908/news_1c8parakeet.html |access-date=9 December 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220091503/http://legacy.sandiegouniontribune.com/uniontrib/20040908/news_1c8parakeet.html |archive-date=20 December 2016}} Austin, Dallas, and Houston, Texas, also have thriving monk parakeet populations.{{cite web |url= http://austinot.com/monk-parakeets-austin |title=Austin's wild monk parakeets search for new home |date=26 February 2016 |website=austinot.com}}{{cite news |title=Monk parakeets are a fun, outdoor surprise |via=HoustonChronicle.com |date=11 December 2015 |newspaper=Houston Chronicle |language=en-US |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/Monk-parakeets-are-a-fun-outdoor-surprise-6691473.php |access-date=2019-05-12 |last1=Clark |first1=By Gary }}{{cite web|url=https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/parakeets-the-enduring-mystery-at-dallas-white-rock-lake/287-594040700|title=Parakeets: The enduring mystery at Dallas' White Rock Lake|date=13 September 2018 }}

As one of the few temperate-zone parrots, the monk parakeet is able to survive cold climates (partly because they build communal nests about heat-producing electrical equipment atop utility poles), and colonies exist as far north as New York City, Long Island, Chicago, and Portland, Oregon. Edgewater, New Jersey has had a colony since 1980.{{cite web |title = Wild parrots escaped into this N.J. town 30 years ago and they never left |date = December 2019 |website=nj.com |url=https://www.nj.com/bergen/2019/12/wild-parrots-escaped-into-this-nj-town-30-years-ago-and-they-never-left.html}} This hardiness makes this species second only to the rose-ringed parakeet among parrots as a successful introduced species.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} Their habit of building nests on warm electrical equipment is a serious fire risk.{{cite journal | last=Burgio | first=Kevin R. | last2=Rubega | first2=Margaret A. | last3=Sustaita | first3=Diego | title=Nest-building behavior of Monk Parakeets and insights into potential mechanisms for reducing damage to utility poles | journal=PeerJ | volume=2 | date=2014-09-30 | issn=2167-8359 | pmid=25289186 | pmc=4183950 | doi=10.7717/peerj.601 | doi-access=free | page=e601}}

File:Monk parakeets (71204).jpg, Brooklyn, NY]]

In 2012, a pair of monk parakeets attempted nesting in Watervliet, New York, about {{convert|150|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} north of New York City, near Albany, New York.{{cite news |title=Watervliet aflutter over pair of exotic birds |newspaper=Albany Times Union |url= http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Watervliet-aflutter-over-pair-of-exotic-birds-3638372.php |access-date=22 February 2015}} Prior to egg-laying, one bird was captured and the nest eventually was removed due to concerns that the nest built adjacent to an electrical transformer created a fire hazard.{{cite news |title=Local birds of a feather no longer flock together |date=30 June 2012 |newspaper=Albany Times Union |publisher=Hearst}}

They have also found a home in Brooklyn, and Queens, New York, notably in Green-Wood Cemetery, with some speculating they were accidentally released at John F. Kennedy Airport in the 1960s.{{cite news | last= Powell | first= Michael |date=28 December 2006 |title=Parrots have colonized the wilds of Brooklyn |newspaper=The Washington Post |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/27/AR2006122701474.html |access-date=12 January 2008}} Several stories exist on the parakeets' introduction to the city, though their arrival is agreed to have been in the 1960s, following importation from Argentina.{{Cite web |last=Giunta |first=Joe |date=20 June 2017 |title=Birds of Brooklyn: Monk Parakeet |url=https://www.bbg.org/article/birds_of_brooklyn_monk_parakeet |access-date=24 June 2024 |website=Brooklyn Botanic Garden}} They thrive in Brooklyn, Queens, and western Long Island due to their preference for nesting in utility poles; populations have not expanded to Manhattan because of the borough's underground wiring.

The population in Chicago is estimated to be at 1,000 birds, with healthy colonies located in several of the city's parks.{{cite news |last=Kuykendall |first=Mark |year=2014 |title=Chicago's subtropical parrots thrive in Chiberia |url=http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=226621 |access-date=20 May 2014 |periodical=Medill Reports |publisher=Northwestern University |place=Chicago, IL |via=news.medill.northwestern.edu}} According to University of Chicago ornithologist Dr. Stephen Pruett-Jones, the population originated in the pet trade.{{cite web |last=Bobeda |first=Tricia |date=29 August 2013 |title=Chicago: A home fit for wild parrots |url=https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-city/chicago-a-home-fit-for-wild-parrots/830ed536-2772-470d-b95f-2134c6b29a09 |access-date=27 August 2019 |website=WBEZ.com}} The first documented parrot nest in Chicago dates to 1973. The species thrives despite harsh winters; attempts to remove them have been resisted by Hyde Park residents, including Mayor Harold Washington.{{cite news |last=Brotman |first=Barbara |date=19 April 1988 |title=Parrot troopers defend their feathered friends |newspaper=The Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-04-19-8803100092-story.html |access-date= 27 August 2019}} The birds are generally welcomed in the city, especially by bird watchers, and were the subject of a 2012 ornithological study.

File:Myiopsitta monachus -Florida -two in tree-8.jpg|Two Monk parakeets in a tree {{endash}} Florida|alt=Florida, USA

File:Monk Parakeet nest -- League City, Texas.jpg |Monk parakeet nest in League City |alt=Nest in electrical tower—League City, Texas

File:Myiopsitta monachus -Old San Juan -Puerto Rico.jpg|Monk parakeet in San Juan|alt=San Juan, Puerto Rico

File:Green-Wood Cemetery parrots (54862).webm|The large nest in the Green-Wood Cemetery gate

Monk parakeets are highly intelligent, social birds. Those kept as pets routinely develop vocabularies of scores of words and phrases.{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927045349/http://www.butnowyouknow.com/oatmeal.html|url=http://www.butnowyouknow.com/oatmeal.html|archive-date=27 September 2007 |title=The Vocabulary of a Quaker Parrot|access-date=12 January 2008}} Due to this early speaking ability, it is overtaking the cockatiel as the favourite bird to teach to talk.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}} Another contributing factor to growing popularity is that this bird has a shorter lifespan and lower price{{citation needed|date=June 2023}} than African grey parrots.

Because of monk parakeets' listing as an agricultural pest and invasive species, the U.S. states of California,{{Cite book |url=https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=28427&inline |title=Restricted Species Laws and Regulations |date=8 April 2021 |publisher=State of California - Department of Fish and Wildlife}} Colorado,Colorado Administrative Code, 2 CCR 406-0-008 - POSSESSION OF TERRESTRIAL WILDLIFE. https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/colorado/2-CCR-406-0-008 Georgia,{{Cite web |title=Guide to Legal Pets |url=https://gadnrle.org/legal-pets#:~:text=Note%3A%20The%20Georgia%20Department%20of,the%20agriculture%20industry%20of%20this |access-date=24 June 2024 |website=Georgia Department of Natural Resources}} Kansas,Kansas Administrative Regulations, Agency 115, Article 18, Line 10. https://sos.ks.gov/publications/pubs_kar_Regs.aspx?KAR=115-18-10&Srch=Y Kentucky,{{Cite web |title=Transportation and Holding of Live Exotic Wildlife - Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife |url=https://fw.ky.gov/Wildlife/Pages/Transportation-and-Holding-of-Live-Exotic-Wildlife.aspx |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=fw.ky.gov}} Hawaii,{{Cite web |title=Animal Guidelines |url=https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/pi/pq/import-program/animal-guidelines/ |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=hdoa.hawaii.gov |language=en}} Maine,{{Cite web |title=Fish and Wildlife in Captivity |url=https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/captivity/index.html#:~:text=The%20Prohibited%20Species%20List%20is,placed%20in%20Category%201%20when: |access-date=24 June 2024 |website=Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife}} New Jersey,{{ Cite web | access-date = 2023-05-18 | year = 2017 | website = Bergen Record | last = Sobko | first = Katie | title = A spring ritual: Monk parakeet nests are removed | url = https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2017/03/29/monk-parakeet-nest-removal-under-way-bergen-county/99493892/ }} Pennsylvania,58 Pa. Code § 137.1 Tennessee,{{Cite book |url=https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1660/1660-01/1660-01-18.20220130.pdf |title=Rules of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency |pages=03, 4b |chapter=1660-01-18}} Wisconsin,Wisconsin Administrative Code, Section NR 40 - Invasive Species Identification, Classification, and Control. https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/nr/001/40 and Wyoming,{{Cite web |title=Wildlife Possession and Importation Reference Table |url=https://wgfd.wyo.gov/licenses-applications/permits/possessing-wildlife/possessing-wildlife-brochure |access-date=24 June 2024 |website=Wyoming Game & Fish Department}} as well as Western Australia{{cite web |url=http://archive.agric.wa.gov.au/PC_94269.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208151437/http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/PC_94269.html |archive-date=8 February 2013 |title=Parrot intercept a reminder to check import rules |date=8 October 2010 |work=Western Australia Department of Agriculture and Food |quote=[...] a monk parakeet, a prohibited species which is not permitted to be imported into or kept in WA.}} outlaw their sale and ownership. In Connecticut, one can own monk parakeets, but cannot sell or breed them. In New York and Virginia, one can own monk parakeets with banding and registration. In Rhode Island, an exotic animal possession permit is required for ownership.{{Cite book |url=https://dem.ri.gov/sites/g/files/xkgbur861/files/pubs/regs/regs/agric/wildanml16.pdf |title=Rhode Island Code of Regulations |page=3.17 E. 2f |chapter=Title 250, Chapter 40, Subchapter 05}} In Ohio, owning one is legal if the bird's flight feathers are clipped or it is incapable of free flight.{{cite web|publisher=Quaker Information Center|url=http://quakerville.net/qic/statelaw.asp|title=Are Quakers Legal in My State?|date=31 December 2004|access-date=12 January 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008211419/http://quakerville.net/qic/statelaw.asp|archive-date=8 October 2007}}

File:Myiopsitta_monachus_-pet_-blue_mutation-8a.jpg|Pet with blue mutation

File:Monk_Parakeet_Bird.jpg|Pets with yellow mutation

{{clear}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Bolognini|first=Marco|year=2021|url=https://www.amazon.com/Quaker-Parrots-Breeding-Selection-Mutations/dp/B08WZFPR6T/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=#detailBullets_feature_div |title=Quaker Parrots: Caring - Breeding - Selection - Mutations|publisher=|location=Italy|isbn=979-8712199440}}
• {{cite book|last1=Athan|first1= Mattie Sue|last2= Davey|first2= JoAnn |last3= Davey|first3=Jon-Mark |year=2004|url=http://parrotsinthecity.com/ |title=Parrots in the City: One Bird's Struggle for a Place on the Planet|publisher=Quaker Parakeet Society|location=Framingham, Massachusetts|isbn=1-59113-563-X}}
• {{cite web|last1=Johnson|first1= Steve A. |first2= Sam |last2=Logue |year=2009|url=http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw302 |work=Florida's Introduced Birds|title=Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus)|publisher=University of Florida/IFAS}}
• {{cite book|publisher=National Geographic Society |year=2002|title=Field Guide to the Birds of North America|location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=0-7922-6877-6}}
• {{cite book|author-link=David Allen Sibley|last=Sibley|first=David Allen|year=2000|title=The Sibley Guide to Birds|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|location=New York|isbn=0-679-45122-6}}
• {{cite web |title=Monk Parakeet |url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Monk_Parakeet/overview |website=All About Birds |publisher=Cornell University |access-date=21 April 2020}}

{{Commons category|Myiopsitta monachus|Monk parakeets}}

{{Wikispecies|Myiopsitta monachus|Monk parakeets}}

• [http://www.parrots.org/index.php/encyclopedia/profile/monk_parakeet/ Monk parakeet entry] in the World Parrot Trust's Parrot Encyclopedia
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20161108184511/http://aulaenred.ibercaja.es/wp-content/uploads/258_MonkParakeetM.monachus.pdf Guide to ageing and sexing] (PDF) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta and Gerd-Michael Heinze
• {{YouTube|id=B3NGeghqxzY|title=Time lapse photography showing a pet monk parakeet constructing a nest}}

• [http://cityparrots.org/journal/tag/myiopsitta-monachus-monk-parakeet Monk parakeet news from around the world]
• [http://www.avianwelfare.org/issues/naturalized.htm Naturalized Parrots in the U.S.]
• [http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw302 Monk parakeet factsheet] from the University of Florida/IFAS
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130224133818/http://www.brooklynparrots.com/ BrooklynParrots.com], a website about monk parakeets in Brooklyn
• [http://10000birds.com/the-parakeet-of-city-streets-the-monk-parakeet.htm The Parakeet of City Streets], an article on introduced monk parakeets on 10000birds.com

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20040620180729/http://quakerville.com/index.asp QuakerVille], a forum for monk parakeet owners

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monk parakeet

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