Amid the transplant exodus from the Bay Area, one group of punky internationals continues to spread its wings in San Francisco with no intention of flying the coop.

Red-masked parakeets — better known among San Franciscans as wild parrots — exist in small feral flocks throughout the city and have been appearing in all kinds of social media posts.

Their noisy squawking has long been commonplace for locals, but more recently they have been captured online flying in elaborate formations, scaling skyscraper balconies and proudly munching on flower blossoms.

The red-headed, green bodied birds are a non-native species that has gradually branched out into new neighborhoods — but don't call them gentrifiers — these flocks keep to themselves without displacing the local avian population.

The birds rose to stardom in the best-selling book and 2003 documentary "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill," in which homeless musician and writer Mark Bittner communes with his feathery friends while drawing attention to their intelligence and social behavior in the urban wild.

ALSO READ: Telegraph Hill parrot flock squawks on, now 300 strong

They originate from a small region in Ecuador and northern Peru and have had a protective status since 1994. It's unclear exactly when and where they first appeared in San Francisco, though Bittner writes about seeing them in the early '90s — a time when he says wild-caught parrots were going for about $100 on the Bay Area market.

In terms of diet, Bittner writes that they eat birdseed along with local favorites like Juniper berries, pine nuts, blackberries, apples, loquats and cherry blossoms. They also nest in trees, an issue that became a debate in 2007 when the city ultimately decided to protect two cypress trees designated for removal because they were deemed critical to the birds' urban habitat.

The original group from the documentary are all gone now — they only live about 10-15 years in the wild — but more than 300 of their relatives continue to fly around in small flocks in Telegraph Hill, the Embarcadero, Crissy Field, Russian Hill, the Presidio, Cole Valley, USF, Lafayette Park and even as far south as Brisbane.

Today, the bird rescue nonprofit Mickaboo takes care of ill or dying parrots and has reportedly taken in more than 140 wild parrots in San Francisco over the years in cooperation with Animal Control.

The wild parrots face a host of challenges in the urban wild including flying into windows, ingesting toxins and being attacked by birds of prey.

But that hasn't deterred them from staying. Nor has the chilly San Francisco weather, which they seem to tough out with ease. Bittner says he's even seen them handle freezing temperatures without incident.

And for those who may worry the birds will one day pack up and fly away — don't count on it. As a non-migrating species that lives in the same place their entire life, they are considered, appropriately enough, resident birds and are here to stay.

Check out the video and slideshow of local reactions to the wild parrots of San Francisco.