Monk Parakeets Built Brooklyn Colonies

During the 1960s, Argentina exported monk parakeets to the United States as pets after an extermination campaign failed to control the agricultural pests. According to one widely repeated story, a shipment escaped at John F. Kennedy International Airport and flew to Brooklyn, although other accounts blame a distressed ship or a divorcing couple. The nonmigratory birds stayed and built communal nests in Brooklyn and Queens, where warmth from utility-pole wiring helps them survive the colder climate. Colonies still inhabit Green-Wood Cemetery and Midwood, and individual parakeets can live for 20 to 30 years.

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