Myiopsitta monachusmonk parakeet

Ge­o­graphic Range

Monk para­keets, more com­monly known as Quaker par­rots, can be found near large water sources, and in the low­land areas of Paraguay, Bo­livia, Ar­gentina, and Brazil. They in­habit open sa­van­nas, scrub forests, and palm groves, es­pe­cially where rain­fall is low. They are also dis­trib­uted in South Amer­i­can city parks, on farms, and in yards (Hig­don 1998). In North Amer­ica, es­caped birds have es­tab­lished breed­ing colonies in Chicago and Miami and in the states of Al­abama Con­necti­cut, Delaware, Louisiana, New York, Ore­gon, Texas, and Vir­ginia (South 1998).

Habi­tat

Myiop­sitta monachus prefers open sa­van­nas, scrub forests, and palm groves (Hig­don 1998). But be­cause it is a highly adapt­able species, the par­rots read­ily take res­i­dence in eu­ca­lyp­tus trees. Quak­ers make their own nests by weav­ing sticks, twigs, small branches, and other ma­te­ri­als into com­plex struc­tures (Doane 1994).

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

A Quaker Par­rot is a medium-sized bird, about 11 to 13 inches long from head to the tip of the long, ta­pered tail. The basic col­ors of the bird are green and gray. Adults of the nom­i­nate race, Myiop­sitta monachus, have a blue-gray fore­head. The lores, cheeks, and throat are pale gray. Feath­ers on the throat and ab­domen are edged in a lighter gray, giv­ing them a scal­loped, barred look. 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, and the legs are gray. The eyes are brown. Males and fe­males are not sex­u­ally di­mor­phic (Gree­son 1995).

  • Average mass
    81.7 g
    2.88 oz
    AnAge
  • Average basal metabolic rate
    0.5189 W
    AnAge

Re­pro­duc­tion

Re­pro­duc­tion of the Quaker par­rot be­gins in late Au­gust and con­tin­ues until Nove­me­ber. Groups of wild Quak­ers live to­gether, each pair with its own res­i­dence com­pris­ing of [at] least two cham­bers. Each com­part­ment serves a dif­fer­ent pur­pose, in­clud­ing one for egg in­cu­ba­tion or a place to feed young chicks, an­other in which to feed older chicks, and a third from which par­ents can keep a watch for dan­ger (Hig­don 1998). Each clutch of eggs ranges from four to seven eggs. In­cu­ba­tion lasts ap­prox­i­mately twenty days.

  • Average eggs per season
    7
    AnAge
  • Average time to hatching
    31 days
    AnAge

Lifes­pan/Longevity

  • Average lifespan
    Status: captivity
    22.1 years
    AnAge

Be­hav­ior

Quaker par­rots are a so­cial­able species. Al­though they live in flocks, their nest­ing habits are unique among par­rots; they build their own nests, while other par­rots use ex­ist­ing sites as the basis for their nests (Hig­don 1998). Groups of wild Quak­ers live to­gether, each pair with its own res­i­dence com­pris­ing at least two cham­bers. As the flock grows, each pair builds its apart­ment onto the main nest. Quak­ers do not shy away from hu­mans and can be found in and near both small and large towns, as well as farms and or­chards. If there is a re­li­able food source nearby, Quak­ers rarely wan­der far from the nest site. How­ever, in South Amer­ica, un­less they live near urban or sub­ur­ban areas where they can find food year-round, Quak­ers mi­grate in the win­ter to find bet­ter food sources (Wiener 1994).

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

Food Habits

Myiop­sitta monachus has been ob­served to eat a va­ri­ety of seeds, fruits, blos­soms, in­sects, leaf buds, this­tles, grasses and parts of trees. They con­sume an as­sort­ment of sun­flower seeds, both black and stiped; saf­flower seeds, pump­kin seeds, and other smaller seeds. 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 (Hig­don 1998).

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

There is a mar­ket for Quak­ers as pets. In cap­tiv­ity, mu­ta­tions are prized. Un­usual color mu­ta­tions in pet quak­ers are highly val­ued and breed­ers strive to achieve them. In this way, breed­ers have been de­vel­oped some par­rot col­ors such as blue, yel­low, cin­na­mon, pied, and al­bino. Such mu­ta­tions are prized by many col­lec­tors, mak­ing them much more ex­pen­sive than nor­mal Quak­ers (Jor­dan 1997) .

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

Ac­cord­ing to a rep­re­sen­ta­tive from the Cal­i­for­nia De­part­ment of Agri­cul­ture, Quak­ers are con­sid­ered a pest bird species. Quak­ers are il­le­gal in Cal­i­for­nia, under any cir­cum­stances, de­spite the lack of any doc­u­mented ev­i­dence of crop de­struc­tion in the state by wild colonies of Quak­ers. Em­bassies, con­sulates and UN rep­re­sen­ta­tives of coun­tries such as Ar­gentina claim that the birds are pest species in their habi­tat, de­stroy­ing as much as two-thirds of the grain crops planted each year (Hig­don 1998).

They do not ap­pear to cause sig­nif­i­cant prob­lems in Chicago (South 1998).

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

The Quaker par­rot is not cur­rently under threat of en­dan­ger­ment. They are well adapted in most en­vi­ron­ments in­clud­ing lo­ca­tions of cold weather and snow.

Con­trib­u­tors

Lin Wang (au­thor), West Wind­sor-Plains­boro High School, Joan Ras­mussen (ed­i­tor), West Wind­sor-Plains­boro High School.

Glossary

Neotropical

living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.

World Map

acoustic

uses sound to communicate

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

oviparous

reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.

scrub forest

scrub forests develop in areas that experience dry seasons.

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

tactile

uses touch to communicate

tropical savanna and grassland

A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.

savanna

A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.

temperate grassland

A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.

visual

uses sight to communicate

Ref­er­ences

Athan, M. 1997. Guide to the Quaker Par­rot. New York: Bar­ron's.

Doane, B. 1994. My Par­rot, My Friend. New York: How­ell Book House.

Gree­son, L. 1995. The Char­ing Lit­tle Quaker. New York: Gree­son’s Lit­tle Baby Par­rots Inc..

Hig­don, P. 1998. The Quaker Par­rot: An Owner’s Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet. New York: How­ell Book House.

Jor­dan, T. 1997. "Those Cud­dly, Col­or­ful Quak­ers! A look at Quaker mu­ta­tions" (On-line). Ac­cessed 9 March 2001 at http://​www.​quakerville.​com/​qic/​ezine/​97Issue4/​mutations-info.​html.

South, J. 1998. "Hyde Park Para­keets (Myiop­sitta monachus)" (On-line). Ac­cessed 9 March 2001 at http://​www.​monkparakeet.​com/​jmsouth/​intro.​html.

Weiner, J. 1994. The Beak of the Finch. New York: Al­fred A. Knopf.