Chapter 1: Alexandrine Parakeet

The sound which started this journey was that of the beautiful Alexandrine parakeet. Over the years, the day to day hustle of school and college never really gave me time to look at these beauties, despite being aware of their presence. About 2-3 years ago, my mom and I saw a few parakeets chattering in the neighborhood. When we carefully observed their actions we came to know that they were actually trying to carve a hole in the wall of a house! Yes, a hole in a concrete wall! The residents of that flat had bought an AC whose fan was installed outside that room, with one or two pipes going towards it from the inside. This small hole that was made for those pipes was later carved into a nest by these parakeets!

But wait, that's not how it started. One fine evening, while I was busy watching FRIENDS and cringing over the lockdown, I heard a distinct sound - somewhat annoying though. I went to my mom to confirm if it was of parakeets. It was one of the rare times when they hanged to the cables and wires running over our building. And there were literally "a bunch of them"; around 8 to 10, just wandering around like the royals do in their castle. They were doing all kinds of tricks such as hanging upside down, fidgeting with that nest of theirs, etc., etc. And oh that plumage! They are so concerned about their bright green plumage that they can hardly stop themselves from preening it. Moreover, it looks extremely beautiful in the sunlight. Have a look!

Okay, so, now all this time I've been referring to them as "parakeets" and not "parrots". Some of you might say, "What's the difference?! blah blah" and some might start arguing "Hey, they are parrots, not parakeets." Let me clear that up for you. Parakeets are a part of the Parrot family. In India, there are about 12 species of parakeets which include Alexandrine Parakeet, Rose-ringed parakeet, Plum-headed parakeet, etc. The Rose-ringed parakeet has a red ring around the nape of its neck and a black one around the front half of the neck. However, this ring is present only in the case of males, the females are completely green in color. The same is the case for Alexandrine parakeet. They can be distinguished from Rose-ringed parakeets because of the small red patch present on both their wings.

So enough with my know-it-all behavior, this was just some info I wanted to flaunt 😉. Where was I? Yeah, the parakeets. On reading the above description one might think that these are very peaceful creatures. But NO, you are wrong! Since the lockdown, there hasn't been a single day when I have not heard their voice for at least an hour. On top of it, they have created quite a scene, rather scenes, while fighting with their rival. Oh yes, they have a rival - the Common Myna - which I will be writing about in my next post.

Happy Birding!