MONK PARAKEET Myiopsitta monachus
Probably the most familiar parakeet in Paraguay the little Monk Parakeet is a highly sociable species usually seen in small noisy flocks. Even when breeding they construct immense colonial nests, consisting of smaller individual nests piled one on top of the other to form a single "city". So huge may these nests become that it is not uncommon for the branch which bears it to snap, bringing the whole metropolis crashing down to the ground. Nests may be built anywhere, from trees to roadsigns, whilst along the Ruta Trans-Chaco almost every telegraph pole seems to bear a colony of these birds. Monk Parakeets are the most commonly seen parrot in captivity in Paraguay, probably due to a combination of their abundance and highly visible, easily accessible nests making them easy to capture.
Click on the images to enlarge them.
FIGURE 1 - (FPAVE3036PH) Ventral view of adult, Cuenca Upper Yacaré Sur, Departamento Presidente Hayes (Richard Smith September 2006).
FIGURE 2 - (FPAVE3037PH) Ventral view of adult, Pirahú, Departamento Presidente Hayes (Paul Smith September 2006).
FIGURE 3 - (FPAVE3038PH) Flock foraging, Tres Gigantes, Departamento Alto Paraguay (Hugo del Castillo August 2011).
FIGURE 4 - (FPAVE3039PH) Adults at nest, Naranjaty, Departamento Presidente Hayes (Alberto Esquivel July 2004).
FIGURE 5 - (FPAVE3040PH) Adults in flight, location unknown (Frank Fragano undated).
FIGURE 6 - (FPAVE3041PH) Adult, PN Tte Enciso, Departamento Boquerón (Paul Smith July 2006).
FIGURE 7 - (FPAVE3042PH) Upperwing of same individual as (FPAVE3041PH) (Paul Smith July 2006).
FIGURE 8 - (FPAVE3043PH) Nest under water tank, Bahía Negra, Departamento Alto Paraguay (Paul Smith September 2006).
FIGURE 9 - (FPAVE3044PH)Palo borracho tree laden with nests, Laguna Capitán, Cuenca Upper Yacaré Sur (Paul Smith September 2006).
FIGURE 10 - (FPAVE3045PH) Palo borracho tree laden with nests, Central Chaco, Cuenca Upper Yacaré Sur (Paul Smith October 2008). Note the fallen nests on the floor around the base of the trunk.
FIGURE 11 - (FPAVE3046PH) Chick fallen from nest, PN Tte Enciso, Departamento Boquerón (Paul Smith October 2008).
FIGURE 12 - (FPAVE3047PH) Same chick as (FPAVE3046PH) head detail (Paul Smith October 2008).
VIDEO A - (FPAVE3050VI) Flock foraging, Tres Gigantes, Departamento Alto Paraguay (Paul Smith August 2011).
VIDEO B - (FPAVE3048VI) Birds at same nest as (FPAVE3043PH) (Paul Smith September 2006).
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Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Material on this page was provided by Paul Smith, Frank Fragano, Richard Smith, Hugo del Castillo and Alberto Esquivel and is used with permission.
Myiopsitta monachus
1 (FPAVE3049RE) Chatters at nest  recorded Laguna Capitán, Cuenca Upper Yacaré Sur (Paul Smith October 2007).
Click the link to hear the call. Longer versions of this call can be downloaded from the Paraguay page of our partner website Xeno-Canto - the largest collection of freely downloadable Neotropical bird calls available online.