This jag causes the wings to make a distinctly different sound from other small birds which usually do not have this primary feather feature. Most online guidebooks and descriptions of this parrot don’t even mention it, perhaps because it isn’t much of a factor in identification from a distance. Another bird with a similar feather design is the Mourning Dove, and that is why the sound of mourning dove suddenly taking off is a bit startling.
Another feature they have that sets them apart from most parrots is a cute little dimple in their feathering on their forehead, right above and between their nares or nostrils which are atypically hidden beneath feathers.
Quakers in the wild are fast-flying parrots native to Argentina’s savannahs and grasslands, but have established colonies in many other nations, including ours, because they are tough, obsessively curious, highly intelligent and adaptable birds, and can easily survive as escapees from the pet trade.
The same intelligence that makes them popular in the pet trade - coupled with their social nature - is also what can make it tougher for them to endure in captivity even if their owners mean well and try to be attentive. It is very difficult for busy humans to provide quakers with enough personal interaction, problems and puzzles to solve, and materials with which to build, to keep their active minds and bodies satisfied, and boredom can set in very easily. The stress caused by boredom, breeding frustration, and loneliness is not to be dismissed- it often leads to self destructive behavior not only in humans but birds as well.
Monk parakeets are very social by nature and will seek out their own kind if they can hear them, which isn’t difficult given how loud they can be.
They are also one of the very few species of parrots that build their own nests rather than rely on finding cavities in trees, and that is a useful skill in the grasslands where there are only scattered trees, or in urban environments full of structures provided by humans.
That urge to build manifests itself when they are pets, too, so they play with everything they can get their beaks or feet on, and they will fly away with objects they like or try to weave them into a nest of sorts if they can. Quakers are very strong birds for their size and they can pick up and manipulate large, fairly heavy objects, which can be amusing. Like most birds they also like to push or drop everything they can snag onto the floor; be careful about making the game more amusing by picking things up for them or they will enslave you into doing it all the time.
The purpose of the whistling wing feathers? Is it to produce a sound recognizable over great distances so the birds can find one another? Is it to startle or confuse predators when the quakers take off? Does it enhance their speed or maneuverability in flight? Why do most birds have smooth primaries rather than this jag in their primary feathers?
An important part of being an artist, particularly a nature or animal artist, is insatiable curiosity and well-developed observational skills, that enable you to notice things like this and help spark a similar curiosity in people so they can more deeply appreciate, enjoy, share and protect what God has loaned to us, becoming the good and faithful stewards we were meant to be, rather than focusing too much on serving ourselves.
That’s not to say that artists should be overzealous, know-it-all activists about the things we have come to love in our vocations, or that we should become enraged hindrances to others’ way of life, hating humanity for our faults and all too often carelessness and greed, but rather, we should simply assume the attitude of life long students at the feet of God, whose perspective is much longer than any human perspective can ever be. The Creator did not bring people into the world for the purpose of being perpetually anxious and outraged, or to have the spirit of fear, and he didn’t make everyone certified prophets of doom, either. We need to temper our short term concerns by taking comfort in His power to turn all things to good in the long term, in His time.
- Susan A. Walton,
S. A.Walton Studio, Hudson, Florida
For more information about feathers :
https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/feathers-article/