The nanday parakeet is long, weighs , and is mostly green in color. Its most distinguishing characteristic, for which it is named, is its black facial mask and beak. It also shows black, trailing flight feathers on its wings and has a long tail edged at the end in blue. The upper chest is bluish-green and the lower chest is a paler green. Feathers covering the thighs are red. The bird feeds on seeds, fruit, palm nuts, berries, flowers, and buds. Feral birds also come to bird feeders. Wild birds primarily use scrub forest and forest clearings around settlements. They frequent open savannah, pastures, and stockyards in South America, where they are considered as pests in some areas. Nanday parakeets usually find holes in trees to nest. Females lay three or four eggs. After raising their young, all birds form rather large communal roosts until the next breeding season.