Tropical birds living in Chicago
photo courtesy of Eloise Mason
Trudging along the snow-covered streets of Hyde Park, you hear chirping and screeching resembling the sound of Styrofoam pieces rubbing together. You look up and see a bright green and blue parakeet. You may think that all the cold and snow has finally made you go mad, but there really are tropical birds that have colonized on the South Side of Chicago. They are called monk parakeets.
These birds have been living in Hyde Park for more than 30 years. No one knows exactly how the wild parakeets arrived in Chicago, but it seems they are here to stay.
Mark Spreyer, a biologist who directs the Stillman Nature Center in South Barrington, has written about the monk parakeet and led tours for people interested in seeing the exotic birds. He told Parrot Chronicles the monk parakeets ”chose the right place to put up a colony. Everyone there really likes them. It’s a really diverse neighborhood and I think there’s a kind of multiculturalism connection between the people and the birds. They fascinate people,” he said.
Stephen Pruett-Jones, associate professor of ecology and evolution at the University of Chicago, will give a lecture on the exotic birds who have settled in Hyde Park. The impact of these non-native birds on other bird species, the environment and the community is the topic of Pruett-Jones’ lecture at noon on Feb. 20.
Roughly one foot long, the monk parakeet is a very social and gregarious bird. The plume of green feathers on the bird’s head and neck inspired its scientific name, myiopsitta monachus, because its hood of feathers resembles a monk’s hood, according to the Houston Audubon Society.
Pruett-Jones has been observing these birds for more than 15 years, and is generating a map of monk parakeet nests in Chicago and the surrounding areas including northwest Indiana and southern Wisconsin, with help from undergraduate students and local inhabitants’ sightings.
Experiments conducted in aviaries with captive birds have found the large nests provide a four-degree advantage over outside temperatures, so it is slightly warmer in the nests. However, “if that was the only thing they had going for them, they could not survive the winters. They only survive the winters because they have access to a large good-quality food source,” in birdfeeders, said Pruett-Jones.
“I think this winter will probably slow them up,” said Spreyer. The thick snow cover could make it harder to find food, and may “knock their numbers back a bit,” he said. Pruett-Jones estimates the number in Hyde Park at about 200.
The birds are of some concern for utility companies in Illinois. Monk parakeets occasionally build their nests on utility poles and power transformers, which can ignite fires and cause power outages.
The lecture will be in the Swift common room at the University of Chicago in Hyde Park. Admission is $5 at the door, and includes a vegetarian meal. Reserve a place before Tuesday at noon by contacting divinitylunch@gmail.com
Filed under Hot Topics, New Research | Comment (0)Eviction notice for Spot
According to an article in the Chicago Sun- Times, some area shelters are seeing the number of animals being sent to shelters because of the owner’s financial turmoil is on the rise. It seems that as the sub-prime mortgage situation worsens, people must sell their homes and may not be able to find apartments that allow animals.
The article emphasizes foster care for animals as an alternative to shelters or abandoning the animals, which has happened in some cases. This allows the owners to step back and regain some control of their finances while providing a home for their pets.
The Chicago Canine Rescue Foundation’s website discusses foster care for animals in Chicago and has some helpful information.
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