Nature in Our Neighborhood: Rose Ringed Parakeets



Rose ringed parakeet

The Rose Ringed Parakeet is an occasional visitor to our backyard to eat seeds from the Rajamalli tree. They perch on one claw, use the beak and the other claw to zip open the pods and eat the seeds with a precision that would be difficult for us humans to match. These birds are very quiet when they perch but we often see them squawk noisily as they streak across the sky in groups of 4 to 6 birds. Contrary to popular terminology – these are not parrots. A good place to see parrots now is the Rio 2 movie, now in theaters 🙂

They can be seen in large numbers on the Peepal tree near the Hanuman temple on Haralur Road. 

The adult male sports a red neck-ring. The female and the immature birds of both sexes either show no neck rings, or display shadow-like pale to dark grey neck rings. Both males and females have the ability to mimic human speech. Apart from their ability to mimic human speech, they often provide astrological advise to many humans!

 

 

 

 – Girish S V

 

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