Monk Parakeet pair
No this isn't a bird you would typically find visiting your back yard feeder in North Texas ~ however if you happen to live south of Fort Worth near the intersection of Boyce and 6th Avenue or near White Rock lake in Dallas ~ it might be more common than you think.
Monk Parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) are a native of temperate South America. The average adult size is 11.5" (bill to tail, tip to tip) and both sexes have bright green backs, dark blue under wings and extensive gray on the face and breast. Considerable numbers of Monk Parakeet were imported to the United States in the late 1960s as pets. Many escaped or were intentionally released, and populations were allowed to proliferate. By the early 1970s, M. monachus was established in seven states, and by 1995 it had spread to eight more. There are now thought to be approximately 100,000 in Florida alone.
The Fort Worth colony began with a single pair in 1985. Now several dozen large, bright green, pointed-tailed parakeets live in giant stick nests, resembling bird condos, in several trees near the original location. The Monk Parakeet is the only parrot that builds a stick nest, in a tree or on a man-made structure, rather than using a hole in a tree. They often breed colonially, building a single large nest with separate entrances for each pair. In the wild, the colonies can become quite large, with pairs occupying separate "apartments" in nests that can reach the size of a small automobile.
Monk Parakeet pair
No this isn't a bird you would typically find visiting your back yard feeder in North Texas ~ however if you happen to live south of Fort Worth near the intersection of Boyce and 6th Avenue or near White Rock lake in Dallas ~ it might be more common than you think.
Monk Parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) are a native of temperate South America. The average adult size is 11.5" (bill to tail, tip to tip) and both sexes have bright green backs, dark blue under wings and extensive gray on the face and breast. Considerable numbers of Monk Parakeet were imported to the United States in the late 1960s as pets. Many escaped or were intentionally released, and populations were allowed to proliferate. By the early 1970s, M. monachus was established in seven states, and by 1995 it had spread to eight more. There are now thought to be approximately 100,000 in Florida alone.
The Fort Worth colony began with a single pair in 1985. Now several dozen large, bright green, pointed-tailed parakeets live in giant stick nests, resembling bird condos, in several trees near the original location. The Monk Parakeet is the only parrot that builds a stick nest, in a tree or on a man-made structure, rather than using a hole in a tree. They often breed colonially, building a single large nest with separate entrances for each pair. In the wild, the colonies can become quite large, with pairs occupying separate "apartments" in nests that can reach the size of a small automobile.