Tweeters --

A week ago my non-birding brother-in-law called me, baffled by a group of
green birds sitting in a tree in his yard in Maple Leaf. He as suitably
impressed when I knew that there were 4 of them -- I assume these are the
same 4 (Monk?) parakeet escapees I've seen flying over Madison Park and
Ballard several times in the past year. A couple questions:

1. Am I right in identifying them as Monk parakeets?
2. Every time I've seen them they've been in a diamond-shaped formation:
x
x x ------>
x
Is this a usual formation for these birds? What would be the formation
if there were more than four of them?
3. Does anyone know if they are all escaped birds or if any of them were
born after the escape? Is this likely to grow into a larger flock?
4. How long have they been around? How long are they likely to survive?
5. Are escaped cage-birds a problem ecologically in any urban areas (or
any area, for that matter)?

Thanks

Katie Sauter
sauter at u.washington.edu