Parrots ahoy!

Parrots are tropical birds of roughly 393 species of the order Psittaciformes, that can be further subdivided into three super families: the Psittacoidea, the Cacatuoidea, and the Strigopoidea.

I have seen about112 species of birds in Nhava Sheva during my stay here. One such bird which I want to speak about is the parrot. It is believed that the parrot can understand human language as well as interact with humans. I remember the parrot we had in our old house in Mazgoan during my childhood. My Grandmother had found her near our home, and had caught her to keep in a cage, before I was born. I had seen the parrot in the cage since my birth. I cant remember the exact species, but dimly recall it being well trained by family members. Whenever I used to cry my mother used to take me near the parrot cage. She would ask me not to cry, and the parrot repeated her words which made me stop crying. As a child I was thrilled with these instances of the parrot repeating certain phrases. I wondered how it would ask loudly who was at the gates whenever some guests or strangers entered the house. One find day my grandmother fed him and left the cage open by mistake. The bird upon finding her cage open, flew out. Unfortunately, birds that are caged for long time cannot fly properly; and the parrot fell victim to one cat who had been eyeing it for long time. The cat must have discovered it out of the cage, and without the ability to escape its grasp. While searching for the parrot the next day, my father discovered torn feathers with signs of a scuffle in the courtyard and guessed its probable fate at the hands of the hungry cat.

Parrots are lovable birds. I had them sitting on my shoulder while visiting Jurong Bird Park in Singapore. Nhava island has quite a few parrots. I have seen and heard them screeching and squawking in the morning frequently. One of the most popular one is the rose-ringed parakeet (Psittaculakrameri), also known as the ring-necked parakeet. This bird can be identified by it’s pink colored ring around the neck in its vibrantly green body. The other common parrot is the Alexandrine parrot (Psittaculaeupatria). It similar to the rose-ringed parakeet, but instead of the pink ring, this one has a thick black ring round the neck. These medium sized birds are among the few largest parakeet species. Parrots feed mainly on fruits, particularly guavas and other plants with seeds. Like rosy starling they also fly in small flocks. Keeping of parrots as pets is illegal as they are protected as wild birds in the Wildlife Protection Act.