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Monk Parakeets

The monk parakeet is a South American bird species that, even in its native territory, it has a reputation for causing substantial crop damage. In the early 1970s when free-flying parakeet populations started showing up in greater and greater numbers in the United States, wildlife and agriculture officials became alarmed at the potential crop damage that could occur here. A 3-year eradication effort was initiated in 1973 that resulted in the deaths of 163 parakeets. Since then, the nationwide population has grown exponentially (van Bael and Pruett-Jones 1996).

Although monk parakeets do cause some local crop damage (Tillman et al. 2001), in the U.S., no widespread agricultural impacts have yet emerged. Instead, the parakeets have become problems for the electric utility industry because of their habit of constructing large nests of sticks and branches on utility poles, transmission towers, and electric substations (Avery et al. 2002). Wet nest material then causes short circuits and power outages. Trapping birds at their nest, followed by removal of the nest, is the most effective technique for coping with localized problem nests on a short-term basis (Tillman et al. 2004). Application of a hand-held red laser is an effective scare tactic to dislodge parakeets temporarily from their nest sites. Despite repeated use of the laser, however, the birds do not stay away (Avery et al. 2002).

Expansion of parakeet populations shows no sign of leveling off (van Bael and Pruett-Jones 1996). Factors that limit many bird populations such as predation, food, and availability of nest sites do not affect the parakeets because of their ability to exploit resources provided by humans. This suggests that current problems will only get worse without intervention.

Summary above taken from:

AVERY, M., AND E. TILLMAN. 2005. Alien birds in North America--challenges for wildlife managers. Proceedings of the Wildlife Damage Management Conference 11:82-89.

Literature Cited

AVERY, M. L., E. C. GREINER, J. R. LINDSAY, J. R. NEWMAN, AND S. PRUETT-JONES. 2002. Monk parakeet management at electric utility facilities in south Florida. Proceedings: Vertebrate Pest Conference 20:140-145.

TILLMAN, E. A., A. C. GENCHI, J. R. LINDSAY, J. R. NEWMAN, AND M. L. AVERY. 2004. Evaluation of trapping to reduce monk parakeet populations at electric utility facilities. Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference 21:126-129.

TILLMAN, E. A., A. VAN DOORN, and M. L. AVERY. 2001. Bird damage to tropical fruit in south Florida. Proceedings of the Wildlife Damage Management Conference 9: 47-59.

VAN BAEL, S., AND S. PRUETT-JONES. 1996. Exponential population growth of monk parakeet in the United States. Wilson Bulletin 108:584-588.