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Monks or Quaker Parakeets originate from South America - from central Bolivia and southern Brazil to Argentina.

Hungry parrots munch Spanish farms - eating pumpkin, sunflower, sweet potato and citrus crops - oh yes also tomatoes... ..

South American Monks Parakeets are giving Catalan farmers the bird.

The creatures, also known as Quaker parrots or by their Latin name myiopsitta monachus, usually inhabit lowland areas in Latin America, particularly Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia.

But those which have found their way to Catalonia in northeastern Spain are wreaking havoc with local crops and agricultural experts on Wednesday told AFP they are at their wits end trying to cope with the "plague" of grey-green, aggressive birds, which can grow to around 32cm.

Their size isn't the problem; their diet is.

The parakeets munch through tree branches, blossoms, various varieties of seed including pumpkin and sunflower, as well as grass, sweet potatoes and cereal and citrus crops.

"The exotic birds are a problem for local species as they have no predators to keep them at bay. They have a high rate of reproduction and are highly adaptable," says Juan Carlos Senar, head of research and publishing at Barcelona's Museum of Natural Science.

Scientists at the museum have been conducting research into the parakeets' behaviour and have mounted a publicity campaign asking local people to telephone them with positive identifications of the birds, stating when and where they saw them.

While the species is known in parts of North America few have made it to Europe. The ones in Catalonia are believed to have arrived in the 1970s. Some are thought to have been kept as pets but then released into the wild by owners irked by their chirping.

According to Mr Senar, whereas in the late 1970s only 50 are believed to have existed in Barcelona, their population has since mushroomed to around 2200.

That they should seek to make the Catalan capital their home is a mystery to Mr Senar.

"Why would these animals who in Argentina flock around the countryside decide here to live in the city?

"I suppose it's because the first ones were brought in as pets and became familiar with wide urban spaces," Mr Senar said.

Away from the city, however, local farmers in rural areas around Barcelona have complained bitterly that the birds have developed a fondness for tomatoes -- saying that last year they pecked their way through around 50,000.

Local authorities of all political stripes are now seeking to come up with a strategy to limit the numbers of the parakeets, regarded by some food agencies as a pest species which can ruin grain harvests.

But they will have to act fast.

Late August sees the start of the reproductive cycle of the Quaker parrot which lasts through to November. 

August 28, 2003