what kind of bird is this? another sighting!

20 July 2008, 00:22

I captured this bird in a photo by accident while bicycling down a farm road.I zoomed in on it and it appears green with a white underside of wing.Any ideas as what kind of bird?I have no idea,but with that tail,Im thinking hen pheasant? certainly not a parrot? maybe a magpie? neither of those occur around here( MN) very much.

here is a close up,as good as I can do.

20 July 2008, 02:01

Outdoor Writer

Not a magpie. They are a bluish-purple with lots of black.

I can't think of any NATIVE birds that would have a green body like that. Perhaps it's a feral parrot-type species. -TONY

20 July 2008, 02:52

mete

We used to have some Monks parrots here .The were escaped pets that lived well in the wild.They aren't very large. But I would assume your bird is some kind of parrot also, but fairly large from the looks of it..

20 July 2008, 04:14

yes,it does look pretty large.Perhaps it was closer than it seems.I didnt see it when I took the picture.I was moving along about 10 mph .
I found a loop of bike trails around some ag fields close by about 4-5 miles around.So far I have seen deer ,turkey,coyote,pheasant, 1000's of birds and millions of bugs!
I have been wearing a tee shirt with a pocket ,so I can get the camera out quicker.Today I took a few rolling shots to see how they would turn out.

20 July 2008, 05:54

Allen Glore

The close-up picture isn't showing up for me. The distant pisture works and from the tail and the presence of the corn field I would say it is probably a hen pheasant. Magpies are smaller than a crow and are black and white. At least the ones I've seen here in Montana and Alaska are.

20 July 2008, 07:03

click on the link for the close up

[URL=http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j247/joelbrown_01/for%20sale/bird2.jpg

20 July 2008, 07:56

Harold R. Stephens

Looks like a parrot. We have a lot of wild green parrots in Texas. Most migrate up from Mexico but some have become local.

20 July 2008, 09:28

wrongtarget

My best guess is it's a Monk Parakeet.

http://chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/winter2003/monkparakeets.html

http://monkparakeet.com/index1.htm

http://monkparakeet.com/jmsouth/

20 July 2008, 10:15

That sure looks like it.however the monk appears to have a dark under wing color.
Perhaps I shall return to the spot with bino's and observe.

20 July 2008, 20:26

Harold R. Stephens

I stand corrected. The Monk Parakeet is what I have seen around Texas.I always thought they were a small parrot.

20 July 2008, 21:01

tasunkawitko

magpies are black and white, but i have seen quite a few that look greenish because of the light and the way it hits their irridescent feathers.

i don't think that's the case here, because it doesn't quite have the shape and i think a magpie's tail is longer, but it might be a possibility. i agree that a hen pheasant is the most likely possibility; it might even be possible that she has some genetic variation that makes her greenish rather than brownish.

it might also be a trick of light or a maladjustment of the camera? look at all that green in the photo: corn, grass, trees etc. that "might" have something to do with it.

i can't imagine a monk parrot showing up in minnesota; surely the winters would do them in.

20 July 2008, 22:02

Hunt-ducks

looks like a Indian ringneck parakeet female or could be a green macaw.

both all green with a long thin tails, parrots have a box type tail

I use to raise them.

20 July 2008, 22:15

quote:
Originally posted by tasunkawitko:
magpies are black and white, but i have seen quite a few that look greenish because of the light and the way it hits their irridescent feathers.

i don't think that's the case here, because it doesn't quite have the shape and i think a magpie's tail is longer, but it might be a possibility. i agree that a hen pheasant is the most likely possibility; it might even be possible that she has some genetic variation that makes her greenish rather than brownish.

it might also be a trick of light or a maladjustment of the camera? look at all that green in the photo: corn, grass, trees etc. that "might" have something to do with it.

i can't imagine a monk parrot showing up in minnesota; surely the winters would do them in.

The camera is a little 5 megapixel samsung digital.
I had thought about a white bird getting a green reflection from all the vegatation.possible.
I see there are populations of monks in chicago,and new york.Maybe some flew over from chicago this summer,Hasnt seen a winter here yet,although chicago isnt very far more south than us.

20 July 2008, 22:32

Lamar

that is definately not a magpie.
i see them all day everyday, and that is not one of those worthless,annoying birds.
unless there is something dead or a garbage
pile there. one wouldn,t be around.
it is either a parrot or a ringneck dove.
they appear like a pigeon at times.

21 July 2008, 03:15

kudu56

Looks like some kind of parrot. Or parakeet!

21 July 2008, 03:16

kudu56

quote:
My best guess is it's a Monk Parakeet.

Notice where they build thier nest? THey need to be shot on sight!

21 July 2008, 04:13

Well I spend a few hours in the area and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

21 July 2008, 04:57

erict

I'd also vote Monk Parakeet. Note the wing shape, position of the primary feathers, the leg location and overall body shape. If it is, it would be rare. Here's another picture of a Monk:

And here's what a nest might look like:

21 July 2008, 06:42

Fjold

We've got a lot of wild parrots down here but it's also a hell of a lot warmer in the winter time.

21 July 2008, 08:05

quote:
Originally posted by erict:
I'd also vote Monk Parakeet. Note the wing shape, position of the primary feathers, the leg location and overall body shape. If it is, it would be rare. Here's another picture of a Monk:

That picture sure matches the under wing coloring.The info I saw online said they had a dark under wing color.
Im actually starting to think it could have been a parakeet.

21 July 2008, 08:28

wrongtarget

quote:
Originally posted by tasunkawitko:

i can't imagine a monk parrot showing up in minnesota; surely the winters would do them in.

You must not have read any of the links I posted. Here's a quote from one of em that was written in 2003.

quote:
The Hyde Park colony has survived Chicago's nastiest weather, a significant feat since the bird originates in the temperate, dry lowlands of South America. This is the harshest climate the birds survive anywhere in the world, according to Pruett-Jones. They do exist further north, in Amsterdam and Paris, for example, and during the 1980s they bred in Montreal, but only in the Chicago area do they currently withstand windstorms and ice baths, rain, snow, hail, and temperatures far below zero.

http://chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/winter2003/monkparakeets.html

21 July 2008, 21:08

butchloc

i would venture a guess that somebody's pet parrot got away on them. there are lots of different breeds that it could be

23 July 2008, 08:01

a friend at work said he was in hastings,mn, talking to some lawn service guys about the pictures i showed him, and they claim they see parakeets along the mississippi river there occasionally.

26 July 2008, 07:12

tasunkawitko

quote:
Originally posted by wrongtarget:
quote:
Originally posted by tasunkawitko:

i can't imagine a monk parrot showing up in minnesota; surely the winters would do them in.

You must not have read any of the links I posted. Here's a quote from one of em that was written in 2003.

quote:
The Hyde Park colony has survived Chicago's nastiest weather, a significant feat since the bird originates in the temperate, dry lowlands of South America. This is the harshest climate the birds survive anywhere in the world, according to Pruett-Jones. They do exist further north, in Amsterdam and Paris, for example, and during the 1980s they bred in Montreal, but only in the Chicago area do they currently withstand windstorms and ice baths, rain, snow, hail, and temperatures far below zero.

http://chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/winter2003/monkparakeets.html

wrongtarget - i wasn't talking so much about latitude as i was talking about climate. there might be some areas that are the same latitude or even farther north, but i doubt that their winters are as cold as they got from minnesota to the rocky mountain front in MN, ND and MT. we're talking several decades below zero, without the wind chill. montreal may be north of me, but i can guarantee that winters in the area i am talking about are not only colder, but also more severe.

having said that, the monk parrot is still the bird that looks most like the one in the picture. perhaps a few took a trip to MN and migrate south for the winter.

26 July 2008, 10:35

well,supposedly ,they dont migrate.
But I bet on a 15 degree november morning,with a 30 mph tailwind,they would figure it out quick,or die!

27 July 2008, 02:39

DIYASUB

I owned a petstore for 20 years and sold quite a few monk parrots, also known as quaker parrots, and although the photo leaves a bit to be desired it sure does look like one to me.
They are winter hardy as far north as Chicago and Mass.
Incidently, they are against the law in some states do to the fear of grain crop depredation.

27 July 2008, 02:46

billinthewild

It is without a doubt an AGB.

JJ Audie Bon

27 July 2008, 05:14

agb?

27 July 2008, 09:47

billinthewild

quote:
Originally posted by jb:
agb?

Another green bird.....

Could not resist!!!!

I had a PH in South Africa on one trip and when I asked him about a bird, he told me that he was frequently asked that question and did not know half the birds there by name. And so he would say, in all seriousness, "why that's an ABB" to which the hunter or guest would reply "darn, it's not in my bird book." "Well, it is a very rare ABB."

(Another brown bird he told me with a big smile.)

28 July 2008, 20:46

Mikelravy

Like in PA CFW confusing fall warbler

02 August 2008, 08:28

the new minnesota hunting rule book lists the monk parakeet as an unprotected species which may be taken at any time.

"Unprotected Birds
House sparrows, starlings, common pigeons, chukar partridge,
quail other than northern bobwhite, and monk parakeets
are unprotected
and may be taken at any time."

I guess we must have at least a summer time population.
I am going to try an early morning birdwatching trip for tommorrow.I have been running the dogs before sunup pretty close to where I saw it ,and there is way more birds flying then,than a few hours later.

02 August 2008, 18:27

Well,I was out there about 6:00 am this morning,right before sun up.
I did manage to see what I think was a monk parakeet.I only had a few seconds before it flew away,but it looked like a parrot-like green and white bird.I had my old 12x tasco binos along,which really bring them in,but have a small FOV.

03 August 2008, 04:46

scr83jp

We have lots of flocks of these noisy Green Parrots in S Calif that feed on fruit.

16 August 2008, 09:39

saw "the bird" again today in almost exactly the same place.it was flying out in to the corn field about an hour before dark.Didnt have the camera and the corn is about 7 ft tall now,couldnt get a pic if I had had one.
Long tail,flies in a head high,tail low atitude.looked to be pretty big,Id say at keast 18" from head to end of tail.