The Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) is the only parrot that builds a stick nest in a tree. Other parrots use a hollow in a tree trunk for their nest.
The female Monk Parakeet lays 4-8 eggs, which hatch after about 24 days. The newly-hatched chicks are born altricial – featherless, blind, and helpless.
Monk Parakeet chicks open their eyes after about four days. They take time to gain all of their feathers. Initially, the down feathers make young chicks look fluffy with dirty-white feathers, and a few green feathers. The chicks have a large orange beak.
Adult birds look after and feed their young chicks. The chicks can fly after 12-13 weeks.
The adult Monk Parakeet, which is also known as the Quaker Parrot, is bright green with a grey forehead, grey chest and a green-yellow belly. Some feathers are dark-blue. Its tail is long. It has an orange beak.
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.
Location of photographs: Paris Zoo, France
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM