By Peter Roos
You’ve likely seen or heard groups of brightly colored parrots, screeching as they fly past. The groups are called flocks for other types of birds. For parrots, the correct term is pandemonium. Often called Quaker parrots, they are more formally known as Monk parakeets. We use the terms interchangeably.
Monk parakeets are medium-sized birds, about 11-13 inches long from head to the tip of the long, tapered tail. Typically, green and gray, adults tend to have a blue-gray forehead. The lores, cheeks, and throat are a pale gray and the feathers on the throat and abdomen are edged in a lighter gray, giving them a scalloped look. The feathers below the abdomen are olive green, becoming yellowish green on the lower abdomen, legs and under the tail. The beak is a light pinkish-brown color, the legs are gray, and the eyes are brown. The Quaker parrot is highly intelligent and can be trained to talk. As non-native Class III wildlife, a permit is required to own them for exhibition or sale, but not to possess them as personal pets.
Native to lowland areas of Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina, and Brazil, they are typically found near large water sources. In South America, Quaker parrots were reported to destroy as much as 40 percent of fruit orchards, making them quite the pest. But in Florida, they have mainly stayed in urban rather than rural areas. The Quaker parrots also create massive nests, often in power stations and on utility poles. Their intricate honeycomb nests make an ideal place to stay warm, lay eggs, and prevent pesky snakes from coming around.
Unlike many other cavity-nesting parrot species, monk parakeets build nests from sticks and twigs. Groups of wild Monk parakeets live together, each pair with its own residence with two or more chambers. As the flock grows, each pair builds its apartment onto the main nest. They do not shy away from humans and can be found in and near both small and large towns, as well as farms and orchards.
Monk parakeets eat a variety of seeds, fruits, blossoms, insects, leaf buds, thistles, grasses, and parts of trees. Near populated areas, the birds have also been known to eat sweet potatoes, legumes, drying meat, cereal crops, such as maize and sorghum, as well as citrus crops.