Monk Parakeets' Voice Print: Unique Tone Helps Parrots Communicate With Flocks

The latest research showed the exceptional voice print of monk parakeets in communicating and socializing with their flocks. Researchers suggested that other animals also have unique voice prints, including bats and dolphins.

Animals have vocalizations and unique ways of communicating with their kind and animals in the wild. For example, parrots possess unique voice prints and can copy human words.

The growing need to understand different species is essential to science and animal behavior., especially the monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus). Studying their behavior and habitats can also help researchers with conservation efforts.

Monk Parakeets' Voice Print: Why is it important?

(Photo : GERARD JULIEN/AFP via Getty Images)
A monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus). Monk parakeets have unique voice prints and tones in communicating with their flocks. The rare vocal abilities of wild parrots help them to socialize.

As a result, researchers from the Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona and Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior teamed together to observe the species of monk parakeets.

The study findings about the wild parrot's unique voice prints were published in the Royal Society Open Science journal. For about two years, the researchers observed 5,000 vocalizations of about 229 monk parakeets in Barcelona.

The role of vocal individual recognition in flocks is crucial in animal's socialization and behavior. For instance, humans have recognizable voice prints that help them communicate. In the study, the wild parrots can likely have a unique tone of voice to be recognized by their species in flocks.

Monk parakeets can imitate voices. The green-gray-looking wild parrots can be noisy. They are native to South America, but they can be seen in cities in the US.

Mon monk parakeets can create nests to survive the harsh winters with their blocks. The net is home for them for about a year. They can live up to 15 years in human captivity and six years in the wild.

According to Simeon Smeele, the wild parrot can use their vocal abilities to socialize. The said parrots can also modulate calls. They recorded a thousand vocalizations of parrots in Barcelona, helping to understand the various calls of different individual parrots.

Smeele is the study's first author and a researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior.

In addition, the study can also help other researchers to study how animals like dolphins and bats can modify their unique vocals in communicating.

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More facts about the Monk parakeets

Monk parakeets are popular in the US because of their vibrant colors and voice imitation abilities. They are also seen in parts of Miami, New York, Chicago, Portland and San Diego.

In addition, the said wild parrots were introduced in the US in the 1960s. They like to stay in urban areas, wetlands and small streams, feeding on small grains and fruits.

However, climate change and severe weather events also affect the monk parakeets. The drought and wildfires can harm their food sources and habitats.