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Monk Parakeet  

Also Known As: Quaker Parrot or Parakeet, Grey-breasted Parakeet, Cliff Parakeet (M.m. luchsi)
 
monk_parakeet_2

Quaker Parrot in a Mimosa Tree

Credit: © Lori Martin | License: ShutterStock

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Did You Know?
The Monk Parakeet has established feral (non-native) populations all over the US in places like Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas and Puerto Rico, and the rest of the world in Bedfordshire and Alfreton, UK, and Holland, France, Italy, Belgium, Spain and the Canary Islands.

Species Profile
Genus:
Myiopsitta

Species:
monachus

Size: Adult Weight:
29cm (11.3 in) 127-140g (4.4-4.9 in)

Races including nominate:
four: M.m. monachus, M.m. calita, M.m. cotorra, M.m. luchsi

Colourization Adult:
M.m. monachus: both adults green in colour with yellow on underparts; forehead blue/grey turning to brown/grey on crown and back of head; face pale grey; breast brown/grey scalloped with grey/white; stripe across upper abdomen olive/yellow; underparts of wings (flight feathers) pale blue; upper tail green, undertail dull grey/blue at base. Bill orange/brown. Eye dark brown. M.m. calita: both adults head darker grey with no blue tint to forecrown; lower abdomen washed with blue; smaller in size. M.m. cotorra: both adults as in calita, but upperparts brighter green in colour; abdomen less yellow. M.m. luchsi: both adults forehead and forecrown completely pale grey; breast uniform grey in colour.

Colourization Juvenile: As in adults but forehead grey tinted with green.

Call: Produces wide array of shrill screeches, squawks and chatter. While in flight or when perched emits loud staccato shrieking and rapid repititious squawks. Loudly chatters while feeding.

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Content Sources:

Central Pets

The Wilson Bulletin Vol. 102, No. 3, September 1990 http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Wilson/v102n03/p0520-p0525.pdf#search=%22Monk%20Parakeet%20hatch%20weight%22

BirdLife International http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=1608&m=0

CITES http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/species.html

Internet Bird Collection http://ibc.lynxeds.com/

ML Media Collection Catalogue 132879, Monk Parakeet Myiopsitta monachus, Hosner, Peter, Corrientes, Argentina, Nov. 20 2006, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World, Juniper and Parr, 1998.

Parrots of the World, Forshaw and Cooper, 1989.

Parrots of the World, Forshaw, 2006.

Parrots in Aviculture, Low, 1992.