Flocks of monk parakeets (or Quaker parrots) constantly fly around screeching at each other along the Uruguayan coast. When I first saw these huge messy nests up in the Eucalyptus trees I thought it must belong to a wood stork or something, but then discovered parrots hanging around them. Looking closer it became obvious that each nest actually has several entrances into which one or several parrots disappear. The nests are made up of thin sticks and the parrots seem to be constantly adding to them and rearranging the sticks. I looked up some information on the monk parakeet since I had some vague recollection that it is considered invasive in some countries. They are native to this region, but their populations have exploded here since Eucalyptus was planted as it provided great nesting habitat. Eucalyptus is native to Australia and has been planted here for forestry uses. The parrots are apparently very social and intelligent birds and can develop a large vocabulary if kept as pets. So, many have been introduced to other warm climates and have escaped to establish colonies. I suspect they are not very welcome because they are quite loud and will feed on agricultural crops.
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The Carolina parakeet also fed on fruit crops, something America's European colonists did not appreciate in their struggle for survival. They survived. The parakeet, of course, did not. Perhaps, for a while, the new orchards helped them multiply, and their multiplication helped assure their extinction.
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