A green-and-gray parakeet native to South America. It builds communal stick nests in trees and on poles, where groups live together.
Most of its body is green, with gray on the face and chest. It has a long tail and is often seen near its large stick nest.
In Santiago, Chile, researchers surveyed Monk Parakeet communal nests from 2016 to 2019. They recorded 1,458 nest structures on 546 trees and found nests on 34 tree species. Ninety-one percent of the trees with nests were non-native; Tasmanian blue gum and black locust were used more often than their availability would predict.
Nests averaged 14.2 metres high and 89.7% were occupied. During two breeding seasons, chambers averaged 4.5 eggs and 4.2 nestlings. The researchers recorded tree species, branch locations, nest use, and breeding contents alongside the colony’s size.
Most nests (59.3%) were placed on secondary branches. By comparing nest use with tree availability, the study found Tasmanian blue gum and black locust used more often than expected.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Among the 546 trees with nests, 24.6% showed health problems and 47.3% had been pruned. The Santiago study recorded urban tree condition alongside Monk Parakeet communal nests.