BENGALURU: Distinguishing / identifying features
The rose-ringed parakeet is found throughout the country. It very like the common myna, but with a longer tail. Its body is green – darker on top and lighter below. Its upper mandible (upper ‘lip’ of the beak) is red, pointed and curves downward while its smaller lower mandible curves upward. The male of this species has a beautiful rose-coloured ring around its neck. Its throat is black and the colour extends around the neck in a thin line. The female has green throughout and has no rose-ring.
Interesting facts
The rose-ringed parakeet is endemic to northern and West Africa – Guinea, Senegal and southern Mauretania, east to western Uganda and southern Sudan – and to southern Asia (depending on the sub-species). These birds are often referred to as parrots but they are best described as parakeets, since parrots are much larger.
Once in such large numbers, as the famous ornithologist Dr Salim Ali said during a visit to the city that ‘you can make a pie of it’, the species has fallen prey to pet-trapping practices. The gregarious tropical birds make popular pets. In India, the royals prized them for their ability to speak.
They originally lived in semi-desert, wooded or forested areas; but have also adapted to human-modified habitats – farmlands, cultivated agricultural areas, parks and gardens in villages and towns. In the wild, these parakeets usually feed on buds, fruits, vegetables, nuts, berries and seeds. They are known to cause severe damage to fruit, sunflower and chilly crops, leaving them half eaten.
Rose-ringed Parakeets are social birds. They often congregate in large, noisy flocks in the mornings and in evenings and at their favourite roosting sites. They are at their noisiest in the mornings and evenings.
Rose-ringed parakeets roost in pairs between September and December. They do not have lifemates. They reach reproductive maturity at about two years, but might not breed until they are three or four.
They are secondary hole nesting birds: they occupy holes in trees, carved out by barbets or woodpeckers. A natural tree crevice might also suffice. An average clutch consists of two to six whitish eggs, incubated for 22 to 24 days. The young start to fledge at about seven weeks. These elegant birds can live for 25 to 30 years.
Threats and disturbances
Despite attempts to revive their population by freeing the birds from local markets, where they are sold as pets, their population has dropped phenomenally across the Indian sub-continent.
(The writer is a member of Birdwatchers Field Club of Bangalore)
Common name of the bird: Rose-ringed parakeet
Scientific name: Psittacula krameri
