Boro Parkers Spot Neon, Lime Green Parrots, Get Glimpses of Tropical Rain Forest

By Yehudit Garmaise

    Boro Parkers get glimpses of the sights and sounds of the tropical rain forest in Argentina when they happen to spot any of the many gorgeous lime-green parakeets that fly high overhead.

    The birds are called Quaker Parrots or Monk Parrots because of the gray “hoods” of coloring that cover their heads, while they are covered with shockingly neon green feathers.

     With dark blue wings and tails with a hint of pink, the birds are a surprising and fun sight in the neighborhood.

     How did the green parrots, which like so many New Yorkers, are immigrants from other shores, get to Boro Park?

     When Argentina was looking to expand its agricultural exports in the 1950s, the country increased its efforts to grow more food in new areas that had not yet been farmed, according to Steve Baldwin, who is a self-appointed Monk Parrot expert in Brooklyn.

     As Argentina successfully increased its agricultural output, the green parrots were attracted to the new food supply: causing a nuisance to farmers, their parnassah, and the country’s economy.

     Thinking they could reduce the country’s Monk Parrot population by exporting them as “exotic pets,” the Argentinian government sent a large box of the beautiful birds New York City in 1967.

     As soon as the box arrived at JFK Airport, however, the birds broke loose and made their way to Brooklyn. Sadly, ever since, poachers have been trying to capture the stunning birds to sell as pets.

     Now, instead of eating Argentinian produce, the birds feast on local grass, leaf buds, chestnuts, and acorns. The parrots seem to like the food leftover by the humans of Brooklyn, as the birds are often seen nibbling on pizza crusts. 

     “In true New York spirit,” Baldwin writes, the birds adapted to their new environment and formed many colonies around the city, where they have thrived for generations. 

     The Latin American-native birds have adapted to their new environment and its climate so surprisingly well that, unlike many other species of birds, the parrots do not fly south for the winter.

     In the winter, the birds are often seen nonchalantly searching for food under a white blankets of snow.

     The birds are beautiful, but they are not quiet, as their six-note cry of “Ack-ack-ack-ack-ack!” can be heard for blocks.

     While some birdwatchers find the call of the Monk Parrots to be slightly noisy, others find them to have a joyful and musical recognizable cry.

     Like many creatures, the Monk Parrots only clamor when they feel threatened by danger, such as by hawks or other predators, such as poachers.

    When nothing threatens them, the wonderfully bright lime-green parakeets merely chatter and chirp pleasantly and quietly to communicate relevant information with each other.

Photo by: NYC Russ