parakeet
The extinct Carolina parakeet was the only parrot native to the United States. It was 12 in. (30 cm) long with a yellow-green body and orange-red head. It was sought as a cage bird and for its plumage, and was killed as a destroyer of fruit and grain crops. The budgerigar and other released or escaped nonnative parrots may be found in the United States, mainly in California, Texas, and Florida, but the monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus), also known as the monk parrot or Quaker parrot, a green and yellow bird with a pale gray forehead and breast and dark blue wing feathers, has well-established colonies in several northern and southern states. it is the only parrot that builds nests, often communal, of sticks.
Parakeets are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Psittaciformes, family Psittacidae.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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