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Like many immigrants, the bright green Monk parakeets, also
known as Quaker parrots, settled into a dark, scary enclave and
turned it into a colorful neighborhood teeming with life even in
the dead of winter.
Considered agricultural pests in their native Argentina, the
parakeets now nesting near the gateway to Brooklyn's Green-Wood
Cemetery arrived in the 1950s at John F. Kennedy Airport to be
sold to the highest bidder, according to popular folklore.
Somehow they escaped and sought refuge in a quiet corner where
few humans dare to tread, comforting mourners with their loud
calls.
Since then, the birds have become such a draw that the
picturesque cemetery established in 1830, one of the largest and
most prominent U.S. burial grounds, welcomed 40,000 visitors in
2017 on its guided tours with themes ranging from "birding
basics" to flowers and history, at prices starting at $10.
Last year the cemetery, which resembles a botanical garden, had
260,000 visitors, up from 250,000 in 2016, according to its
annual report.
"It's almost a perfect place for them because it's a private
property, no one's going to mess with them," Brooklyn resident
Stephen Baldwin, 62, said of the parakeets he has been following
since 2005. "They don't have the problem of nesting on utility
poles," so the power companies do not bother them, he added.
Seed-bearing trees, including pine, and grass supply plenty of
food for a population of about 75 parakeets in the 500-acre
(202-hectare) cemetery where rich and famous New Yorkers are
buried.
These include corrupt politician William "Boss" Tweed, toy store
founder F.A.O. Schwarz, piano maker Henry Steinway, business
tycoons Charles Pfizer and William Colgate, painter Jean-Michel
Basquiat and composer Leonard Bernstein.
The birds are a "tremendous hit," said Green-Wood Cemetery
historian Jeff Richman, noting that visitors leave bustling
Brooklyn through the landmark gateway to enter a "religious
experience" with nature.
That is an unlikely role for a bird considered an agricultural
pest in many parts of the world, including California, Georgia,
Kansas, Kentucky, Hawaii, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In those
states, sale and ownership of the birds are outlawed, according
to parrot enthusiast websites and state wildlife and fisheries
departments.
The hardiness of Monk parakeets is little known in cities, where
they are popular as fluffy, humorous pets.
But they are the only parrots to build stick nests in colonies
that provide insulation in cold winters, including on structures
such as a New York cemetery archway.
(Reporting by Elly Park; Writing by Richard Chang; Editing by
Sandra Maler)
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