Our Darth Popats - Indian Parakeets

Pics : 1 - 2 = Plum Headed Parakeet ; Tadoba | Pics : 3 - 4 = Slaty Headed Parakeet ; Sattal | Pics : 5 - 6 = Alexandrine Parakeet ; Ranthambore | Pics : 7 - 9 = Rose Ringed Parakeet ; Kaziranga & Ranthambore | Pics : 10 - 12 = Red Breasted Parakeet ; Kaziranga & Andaman | Pics : 13 - 16 = Long Tailed Parakeet ; Andaman 

I thought that I had a surprise for you when I started thinking out this post about the Indian Parakeets that I’ve seen so far but man it turns out that the post has an even bigger surprise for me. It’s apparently pretty common to mistake the Alexandrine Parakeet for the Rose Ringed kind and it seems like I’ve stayed with that misconception about a couple of my photos for a while now. I remember telling myself that there was something off about the pictures of the Parakeets from Ranthambore from a while back but I just didn’t look any further into it when I was getting the gallery up on here. I thought that the guy in Pics : 5 & 6 was just fluffy but he’s that and also has this red patch on his shoulder that sets his kind apart. I would’ve known if I’d looked. Oh well, another species for the post and in time I guess. So yeah, the Rose Ringed Parakeet is probably the most commonly seen Parrot in India and the Alexandrine is often mistaken as the same species. Now for your surprise I have to tell you why I call Parakeets, Darth Popat. Check out Pic 8 and when you’ve seen it, it shall never be unseen. You’re welcome to the club my friend LOL. Hey! Artists can get their inspiration from many places but who would’ve thought that the supposed most evil organization in the universe would make their protective gear look like the cute little Parakeet’s head? Really !

Parakeets are Parrots with long pointy tails. Most Indian Parrots are Parakeets. In fact all of them actually except the “One & Only”, Vernal Hanging Parrot. They come in shades of green and with red thrown into their coats with varying intensity and in different places which sets the different species apart. Parakeets of different kinds in India are known to flock together and interbreed as well although they do seem to prefer the company of their own kind usually. They’re very smart birds and can easily learn to mimic human speech among other sounds. They’re coveted because of that trait but the trade of Parakeets is rightfully illegal in this country and like I’ve said in a previous post, the sure shot way to invite trouble for yourself is to keep an exotic pet. People really ought to just put a little thought into the fact that not all animals have evolved to be pets and that animals don’t necessarily need nor want our charity. They only need space to live which we’ve monopolized control over. Demanding their subjugation because of that control isn’t really humane. The only humane way to form bonds with animals is to relocate to where you can be neighbours and friends with them. Animals need our respect more than they need love from us. The mess we’ve made of our cities with the Pigeons really does not need to be repeated. Humans have a tendency to covet and then forget and abandon animals that they introduce to new environments and that habit has ruined many an eco system around the planet. Owning life for entertainment just isn’t cool on any level and especially with non domestic life forms that cannot comprehend the concept of loyalty and shared living. It’s just bad man. Don’t do it. If you truly love animals, go visit or relocate closer to become a friend. Use your land to let them be in it without strings. They don’t need fancy golden cages. They just wana be. They don’t want to be in eco systems that don’t suit them and they definitely cannot evolve at a pace dictated by us. Just a little respect is all it takes but sadly this affliction of ownership has become so tied to our species that we just cannot fathom that not all creatures understand that.

My first run in with a Parakeet was on a short trip to Ranthambore while travelling across Rajasthan. I saw the Alexandrine Parakeet on that novice trip whom the attendant identified as a Rose Ringed Parakeet as I just mentioned at the start of the post. Wildlife parks have an internal culture that tourists obviously don’t know. Noob that I was, I was part of that crowd then and on the safari bus for a couple of safaris where I didn’t really see much of anything except some common birds and monkeys among whom was the Alexandrine Parakeet in Pics : 5 & 6. I also was pretty much convinced that I’d “just missed” seeing a Tiger on both of those trips which really isn’t a surprise in hindsight. Tourists always “just miss” seeing the Tiger in those parks without ever questioning how they would see it from the back of a bus full of people. Well, I “just missed” the tiger on that trip but I did score a few decent images of Parakeets and other birds that are on this site even now.

You can spot Rose Ringed and Red Breasted Parakeets all around my home state of Assam. I’ve seen the The Rose Ringed guys around the edges of town and around many tourist destinations around the country. They’re the most popular and probably the boldest of the lot that we find in India which also makes them the prime targets for poachers and traffickers sadly. Their Red Breasted cousins range around the East of the country and you’re pretty much guaranteed a sighting of these guys when you visit any of the many reserves in Assam. My first run in with one of em was with the guy in Pic : 10 from Kaziranga who was on his lunch probably when I found him. I ran into their kind repeated in Andaman and in Manas as well. The males of their kind have the red or orange beaks while females have black beaks and the sub adult’s beaks change colour as they mature. The Long Tailed Parakeet ( Pics : 9 – 12 ) is found in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, Malaysia and Indonesia. My run in with this couple was in Sri Vijayapuram and a pretty fun one that I wrote about in “Colour Bomb Ahoy !”. The Plum Headed ( Pics : 1 & 2 ) and Slaty Headed ( Pics : 3 & 4 ) Parakeets that I’ve seen show the diversity in coloration of these guys if nothing else. My Slaty Headed friend was from Sattal and his kind are seen around the Himalayan foothills usually while the Plum Headed kind can be found all over the center of our country. Parakeets are fun, bold and very accommodating subjects. They can also be colourful from what I see of the exotic ones from overseas but what stands out always about Parrots in general is their always curious and playful nature.

It’s their intelligence and that playful nature that draws us to them and I for one am not for the domestication of birds in all honesty. I don’t see the purpose in changing a species over time and repeat the follies that we have committed in the past with other species like Pigeons and Shikras among others. Life shouldn’t be property unless it serves a purpose as that and I really hope that we can align ourselves to be friends of life. Some may offer a point here about the domestication of species who’re bred for food and there’s no ending that debate really. We have to eat to survive. We don’t need to eat everything though and especially not the smarter ones who have evolved to use that intelligence to exist by their own terms. Well, here’s to hoping that I chance more of these smart and beautiful creatures in the days to come.