a feral quaker parrot, naturally found in south america, tries a taste of sunflower. quaker parrots have established themselves throughout the world due to escapes and intentional releases from the pet trade, and some flocks number in the thousands.
(x)
a feral budgerigar and quaker parrot feed alongside each other on spilled popcorn. through budgerigars are native to australia and quaker parrots are native to south america, both parrots have established feral populations in the united states, and surprise some by being commonly found in urban environments.
(x)
a flock of feral peach-faced lovebirds sits on a roof. native to africa, peach-faced lovebirds have established feral populations in the United States. normally, wild lovebirds are green, but these birds continue to show mutations from captive populations.
(x)
the quaker parrot, also known as the monk parakeet, is a medium-sized green and off-white parrot native to south america.
quaker parrots are well known for their unusual nest-building habits. they are one of the few species of birds to be resident in their nests throughout the year, not just during breeding season. quaker parrots create huge, communal nests out of twigs – sometimes as big as a small automobile. each parrot pair has an ‘apartment’ within the nest, and an entire flock shares the communal nest.
quaker parrots feed off of fruits, berries, seeds, and nuts.
quaker parrots are well-loved as pets. despite being loud and territorial, they can also be devoted companions with large vocabularies. however – it isn’t legal to own quaker parrots everywhere, as they can easily become invasive if introduced into the wild.
large flocks of feral quaker parrots, sometimes numbering in the thousands, exist throughout the world. it’s hard to tell exactly how they got there – many of the original birds may be escaped pets, or intentional releases, that then bred and created many more birds. some consider them pests, as they feed off of fruit and grain crops and can be noisy, and others love them. they can create problems when they build their large communal nests on telephone poles – sometimes causing fires. however, some celebrate them – they have become the mascot for a college in new york, as large flocks of them nest on campus.
quaker parrots are very abundant and are currently rated least concern by the iucn.
(x)
though they are native to south america, blue crowned conures have established a feral population in central florida. most escaped pet birds can’t establish breeding populations due to weather and food shortages, but florida is (an unnatural) home to several species of parrot.
(x)
feral blue crowned and nanday conures visit a backyard birdfeeding station in florida. large flocks of feral parrots call florida home. while most escaped or released parrots don’t survive long enough to breed and create flocks, florida provides a warm enough environment with many food sources.
(x)
peach-faced lovebirds are native to africa, but have made themselves at home in phoenix, arizona, after introduction by humans. the lovebirds are frequently observed making their nests in cactuses.
(x)
peach-faced lovebirds have established a feral colony in phoenix, arizona – the result of either escapees or released birds breeding and surviving for generations. lovebirds are native to africa, but have a fairly significant feral population size in arizona. they are frequently found nesting in cactuses. some of their roots from human breeding still show, as birds with color mutations only seen in captivity can be found in the flock.
source: (x)
we’re used to seeing mixed colors of pigeons in flocks – white, red, pied. but none of these colors are found in wild rock doves. all the color mutations we see in feral pigeon flocks today are the result of escaped or released domesticated pigeons – rock doves are naturally only gray.
image sources: (x)
today's bird 