Monk Parakeets, or Quaker Parrots

Aug. 28, 2003 — South American parakeets are wreaking havoc with local crops in Catalonia in northeastern Spain, said agricultural experts.

Monk parakeets, also known as Quaker parrots, typically inhabit lowland areas in Latin America, particularly Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia.

Spanish agricultural experts told AFP that they are at their wits end trying to cope with the "plague" of gray-green, aggressive birds, which can grow to around 32 centimeters (13 inches.)

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The parakeets munch through tree branches, blossoms and various varieties of seed including pumpkin and sunflower, as well as grass, sweet potatoes and cereal and citrus crops.

"The exotic birds are a problem for local species as they have no predators to keep them at bay. They have a high rate of reproduction and are highly adaptable," said Juan Carlos Senar, head of research and publishing at Barcelona's Museum of Natural Science.

Scientists at the museum have been conducting research into the parakeets' behavior and have mounted a publicity campaign asking local people to telephone them with positive identifications of the birds, stating when and where they saw them.

While the species is known in parts of North America few have made it to Europe. The ones in Catalonia are believed to have arrived in the 1970s. It is suspected that they were kept as pets and then released into the wild by owners irked by their chirping.

Only 50 are believed to have existed in Barcelona in the late 1970s, but according to Senar, their population has since mushroomed to around 2,200.

That they should seek to make the Catalan capital their home is a mystery to Senar.

"Why would these animals who in Argentina flock around the countryside decide here to live in the city?

"I suppose it's because the first ones were brought in as pets and became familiar with wide urban spaces," Senar opined.

Away from the city, however, local farmers in rural areas around Barcelona have complained bitterly that the birds have developed a fondness for tomatoes, claiming that last year they pecked their way through around 50,000.

Local authorities of all political stripes are now seeking to come up with a strategy to limit the numbers of the parakeets, regarded by some food agencies as a pest species that can ruin grain harvests.

But they will have to act fast. Late August sees the start of the monk parakeet’s reproductive cycle, which lasts through to November.