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Rose-ringed Parakeet

Psittacula krameri

Description:

The Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri), also known as the Ring-necked Parakeet, is a gregarious tropical Afro-Asian parakeet species that has an extremely large range. Rose-ringed parakeets measure on average 40 cm (16 in) in length including the tail feathers. Their average single wing length is about 15–17.5 cm (5.9–6.9 in). The tail accounts for a large portion of their total length. The Rose-ringed parakeet is sexually dimorphic. The adult male sports a red neck-ring and the hen and immature birds of both sexes either show no neck rings, or display shadow-like pale to dark grey neck rings. The Rose-ringed Parakeet has established feral populations in India, a number of European cities, South Africa and Japan. There are also apparently stable populations in the USA (Florida, California and Hawaii) and a small self-sustaining population in Tunis, Tunisia, and Tehran, Iran (concentrated in the north side of the city). They are also found throughout Lebanon, Israel, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman. There are a small number of escaped birds in Australia. The European populations became established during the mid to late 20th century from introduced and escaped birds. There are two main population centres in Britain: the largest is based around south London, where they can be regularly seen in places such as Battersea Park, Richmond Park, and Hampstead Heath; the smaller population can be seen in Esher and Berkshire, and by 2005 consisted of many thousands of birds, known as the Kingston parakeets. The winter of 2006 saw three separate roosts of circa 6000 birds around London[6] A smaller population occurs around Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate, Kent. Elsewhere in Britain, smaller feral populations have become established from time to time (e.g., at Studland, Dorset, Kensington Gardens, and South Manchester). It has been suggested that feral parrots could endanger populations of native British birds, and that the Rose-ringed Parakeet could even be culled as a result.[7] A major agricultural pest in locations such as India, as of 2011 the Rose-ringed Parakeet population is growing rapidly but is generally limited to urban areas in southern England[8] where their preferred diet of seed, nut, fruits, and berries are available in suburban gardens and bird feeders.[9] In the Netherlands, the feral population in the four largest urban areas (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and especially in The Hague) has been estimated at more than 10,000 birds, more than double the number of birds estimated in 2004.[10] There also exists a feral population in Belgium, with as many as 5,000 pairs estimated in Brussels.[11] These originate from an original population that was set free in 1974 by the owner of the Meli Zoo and Attraction Park near the Atomium who wanted to make Brussel more colourful. In Germany, these birds are found along the Rhine in all major urban areas like Cologne, Bonn, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg, Wiesbaden and in the northeast of Hamburg. Other populations are found around Paris, Rome – notably in the gardens of the Palatine Hill and at Villa Borghese -, in Barcelona and in Lisbon.[12] The specimens in these naturalized populations often represent intra-specific hybrids, originally between varying numbers — according to locality — of the subspecies manillensis, borealis, and/or (to a lesser extent) krameri along with[verification needed] some inter-specific hybrids with naturalized Psittacula eupatria (Alexandrine Parakeet). However, in some parts of South Asia—from where the Rose-ringed Parakeets originated—populations of these birds are decreasing due to trapping for the pet trade. Despite some people's attempts to revive their population by freeing these birds from local markets, the Rose-ringed Parakeet's population has dropped drastically in many areas of the Indian subcontinent.

Habitat:

This non-migrating species is one of few parrot species that have successfully adapted to living in 'disturbed habitats', and in that way withstood the onslaught of urbanisation and deforestation. In the wild, this is a noisy species with an unmistakable squawking call.

Notes:

With no apparent neck-ring, this bird is most likely a female or juvenile.

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2 Comments

Ashish Nimkar
Ashish Nimkar 11 years ago

Oh... they spread over Belgium also... In Britain they are considered as pest now... This look to be female.

Cammie C. Jeffries
Cammie C. Jeffries 11 years ago

So pretty!!! I can't imagine getting to see these in the wild, I've only seen them in pet stores. Lol

MarkBockstael
Spotted by
MarkBockstael

Leuven, Vlaanderen, Belgium

Spotted on Feb 4, 2012
Submitted on May 25, 2012

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