On Christmas Eve we had our first ever Monk Parrot visit. A pair of them were perched in the white birch outside the kitchen window, eye-ing the birdfeeder. As far as I know, they never came down to eat. It’s an odd thing, to see green tropical birds living in the cold weather of New England…
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. This gregarious species often breeds 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.
The lifespan of Monk Parakeets has been given as 15–20 years. Monk Parakeets are highly intelligent, social birds. Those kept as pets routinely develop large vocabularies. They are able to learn scores of words and phrases.
Wow you keep amazing me everyday with your photography! ! Hope your day is great
How extraordinary! I love would love to see unusual birds at my feeder. I get the usual suspects, chickadees, juncos, sparrows, mourning doves, blue jays etc.This wee bird is beautiful!
And they come to the cold of New England?????? I am shocked.
What a treat! I love to see unexpected birds!
Wow, Karen…what a beautiful view you have. I love how colorful the birds are.
Very cool to see but I wonder if it is a pet that was lost? What the heck would it be doing there otherwise? Parrots have the cutest little faces.
Definitely some special visitors for you, they're beautiful.
Lots of amazing things to be seen at This Old House, eh? How special is that?!
They are beautiful! What a treat!!
so cool to see them in your yard!
i know areas of Dallas have struggled with them – invading the power poles and causing power failures.
What a nice surprise to see one! Thanks for the information. Very interesting!
Have a great day.
Pam
wow….but what are they doing on the east coast ?
makes you wonder doesn't it ??
xo
Oh, how interesting! Never seen them around these parts.
They do look a little out of place.
He needs a sweater. I'll bet he was shivering in your neck of the woods.. Gorgeous bird.
So great that you were able to capture the photo's. Love it! 🙂
I can't believe they are here in CT!!!…:)JP
I have never seen monk parrots! I always thought they were very tropical birds. Beautiful! xo Diana
We have a pet monk parrot {although we were told it was called a Quaker parrot}. We were so surprised that they could live outside in the cold weather. I included a picture of Nina a couple of posts ago if you want to have a peek. She does talk quite a bit but mostly she screams, just like my girls!!
XO,
Jane
We were visiting a relative near East Norwalk Connecticut a few years ago and were so surprised to see LOTS of them in trees near the water. They are beautiful. I do believe it was in the summer that we saw then though.
My Son lives next door to a water tower with many parrots and nests. I wonder if this could be the same kind?
That really is amazing! I don't think I've ever seen one! What a treat to see a pair! I hope they fly south and we see them here in FL! Enjoy your week! Happy holidays my friend! ♥♥♥
Those little guys sure make big nests! It's a good thing too because it looks mighty c o l d there. Did they forget to fly South for the winter perhaps?
So beautiful and not something you see everyday. Beautiful shots!