The Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) is a common small bird in the parrot family. It is also known as the Quaker Parrot.
The Monk Parakeet is bright green with a light-grey to whitish forehead, grey chest and a green-yellow belly. Some feathers are dark-blue. Its tail is long. It has a pale-orange beak and small dark eyes.
Monk Parakeet
It measures about 29 centimetres (11.5 inches) tall, with a wingspan of 48 centimetres (19 inches).
The Monk Parakeet is native to Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay in South America. It prefers temperate to sub-tropical regions.
It eats grains, seeds, insects, larvae, and leaves.
It lives in colonies, but may also been seen in pairs.
The Monk Parakeet is the only parrot that builds a stick nest in a tree. Other parrots use a hollow in a tree trunk for its nest. The female lays 4-8 eggs, which hatch after about 24 days.
The average lifespan of a Monk Parakeet is 15-25 years.
Monk Parakeet
Monk Parakeet
Monk Parakeet
[Location of photographs: Paris Zoo, France]
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM