Bee eaters and Parrots

Bee Eaters


This is an abundant and fairly tame bird, familiar throughout its range. It is a bird which breeds in open country with bushes. In Africa and Arabia it is found in arid areas, but is more catholic in its habitats further east. Just as the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and ants, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. This species often hunts from low perches, maybe only a metre or less high. They readily make use of fence wires and electric wires. Before eating its meal, a bee-eater removes the sting by repeatedly hitting the insect on a hard surface.

Unlike most bee-eaters, these are often solitary nesters, making a tunnel in sandy banks. The breeding pairs are often joined by helpers. They sometimes form small colonies, or nest near other bee-eaters. They lay 4 to 8 spherical white eggs. Both the male and the female take care of the eggs. These birds roost communally, lined up on a tree branch. The call is a soft trill.

A study showed that Little Green Bee-eaters are capable of identifying with the behavior other animals. They were able to predict whether a predator at a particular location would be capable of spotting their nest entrance and then behaved appropriately in disguising their location. The ability to look at a situation from another's point of view was previously believed to be possessed only by primates.



Blue-tailed Bee-eater


This is Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Merops philippinus.

This is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It breeds in southeastern Asia. It is strongly migratory. This species is sometimes considered to be conspecific with the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, M. persicus.
his species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly-coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly green; its face has a narrow blue patch with a black eye stripe, and a yellow and brown throat; the tail is blue and the beak is black. It can reach a length of 23-26 cm, including the two elongated central tail feathers. Sexes are alike.

This is a bird which breeds in sub-tropical open country, such as farmland, parks or ricefields. It is most often seen near large waterbodies. Like other bee-eaters it predominantly eats insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch.This species probably takes bees and dragonflies in roughly equal numbers. The insect that are caught are beaten on the perch to kill and break the exoskeleton. This habit is seen in many other members of the coraciiformes order.

These bee-eaters are gregarious, nesting colonially in sandy banks or open flat areas. They make a relatively long tunnel in which the 5 to 7 spherical white eggs are laid. Both the male and the female take care of the eggs. These birds also feed and roost communally. The call is similar to that of the European Bee-eater.

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater,



The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Merops leschenaulti is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is a resident breeder in southern Asia from India east to southeast Asia and Indonesia.This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly green, with blue on the rump and lower belly. Its face and throat are yellow with a black eye stripe, and the crown and nape are rich chestnut. The thin curved bill is black. Sexes are alike, but young birds are duller.This species is 18–20 cm long; it lacks the two elongated central tail feathers possessed by most of its relatives.



Plum-headed Parakeet



Plum-headed Parakeet (Psittacula cyanocephala) is a widespread resident in India.
Size: 36 cm
Identification: Male - Generally green. Deep red head. Lower cheeks and collar black. Blue-green band on neck. Green-blue underwing, dark red patch on upper wing. Blue tail tipped with white, yellow side feathers. Orange-yellow upper beak, brown-black lower. Pale yellow eyes. Green-grey legs.
Female - Dull blue head. Yellow collar. No red wing patch. Upper beak pale yellow, lower grey. Juvenile - Green head. Orange forehead. Tail shorter than adult's. Yellow beak.
Call: Shrill in flight, quieter notes when perching.
Distribution: India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan. In Sri Lanka, is common along the foothills in open woodland. In India, is common near cultivated land and in parks and towns. Not as common in Nepal.
Habits: Large flocks may gather to feed on grain crops but usually in small groups. Roost at dusk in a large flock in trees or bamboo. Very noisy until nightfall. Flight is swift.
Food: In the wild: Seeds, fruits, nuts, blossoms and leaf buds. Damage orchards and rice crops.
Breeding: India, December to April. Sri Lanka, February to May and again August to September. Nest: Excavate a hole in a tree or enlarge the holes of other birds. Nest together in the same tree or trees close by. Eggs: 4-6. Rounded. Incubated by the female for 24 days. Chicks: Leave the nest 6 weeks after hatching. After the first moult juveniles have plumage similar to the female. Males have full adult plumage in their third year.

Sri lanka Hanging Parrot





The Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot is a small, mainly green hanging parrot, only 13 cm long with a short tail. The adult has a red crown and rump. The nape and back have on orange tint. The chin and throat are pale blue. The beak is red and the irises are white.
Immature birds lack the orange hue to the back, have a duller rump, and have only a hint of orange on the crown. They have a feint blue throat. They have orange beaks and brown irises.

Alexandrine parakeet














The Alexandrine Parakeet is a large Parakeet species measuring 58 cm (23 in) in total length with a wingspan averaging 18.9–21.5 cm (7.5–8.5 in). It is mainly green with a blue-grey sheen on its cheeks and napes, particularly in males. The abdomen is yellowish-green, the upperside of the middle tail feathers is blueish-green, the upperside of the external tail feathers is green while the underside of the tail feathers are all yellow. All Alexandrine Parakeets (irrespective of age, gender and/or sub-species) boldly display a maroon (reddish-brown) patch at the top of their wing coverts (commonly called 'shoulder' patch). The shoulder patch is seen in parakeets at their first feathering before fledging from their nests. The lower and upper mandible are red with yellow tips. The adult's irises are yellowish-white and the periopthalmic rings are light grey. The legs are grey except in the P. e. siamensis (Laos' or Siamese sub-species) where they are yellowish-grey.
The species is dimorphic in adulthood (3 years and older). The immatures are monomorphic and are similar but duller in appearance to that of the adult females. Adult males always show pitch-black neck rings and large pink bands on their napes (commonly called nape bands). Often males only display a little band of blueish-grey above their bold pink nape-bands. Adult females frequently show neck ring shadows that are anywhere between light and dark shades of grey. Females never display true black feathers in their neck-rings. Immatures of either genders are very similar to adult females but as with all genuine parakeet species, the young Alexandrine Parakeets always display shorter middle-tail feathers and thus shorter tails than adults. The adult feathering usually is acquired between 18–30 months of age, but may sometimes show up as young as 12 and/or as old as a full 36 months of age. Consequently, it may be difficult to identify the sex Alexandrine Parakeets by sight with absolute certainty until they are a full 36 months of age.
The young males can be identified as soon as they display one (or more) pitch-black feathers of their neck rings and/or one (or more) pink feathers of their nape bands. Often, the young males develop their neck rings and nape bands in two or sometimes three successive moulting seasons. Adult parakeets with neither pitch-black feathers in their neck rings nor pink feathers in their nape bands are usually females.
The P. e. nipalensis ssp. (Nepalese Alexandrine Parakeet) is the largest of the species measuring 62 cm (24.5 in) in total length with a wingspan averaging between 20–24 cm (8–9.5 in). It is thus recognized as the world's largest genuine Parakeet (short to mid sized Long-Tailed Parrot) species. It looks much like the Nominate sub-species. However, the feathers on the chest and abdomen in both genders display whitish-grey sheens, the cheeks and napes are washed with blue and the adult males display large pink nape bands.
The P. e. magnirostris ssp. (Andaman Island's Alexandrine Parakeet) is slightly larger than the nominate sub-species, displaying a wingspan anywhere between 20–22.5 cm (8–9 in). It looks much like the nominate race. However, the feathers on the chest and abdomen in both genders display whitish-grey sheens. The maroon 'shoulder' patch is of a much redder (or less brownish) colour than of that of the nominate. The beak is larger and more massive. The adult males display large pink nape bands, the blue sheens above the nape-bands are restricted and sometimes absent in some specimens.
The P. e. avensis ssp. (Indo-Burmese Alexandrine Parakeet) is of same size as the nominate species, also measuring 58 cm (23 in), displaying a wingspan averaging anywhere between 19.4–22 cm (7.5–8.5 in) and looks much like the Nominate ssp. However, the top of the head and the nape are of a yellowish-green, the blue sheens are restricted to the cheeks and thus absent in the nape. The adult males display thinner and pinker nape-bands.
The P. e. siamensis ssp. (Laos or Siamese Alexandrine Parakeet) is the smallest of the species, measuring 56 cm (22 in), displaying a wingspan averaging anywhere between 17.9–20.5 cm (7–8 in) and looks much like the Nominate ssp. However, the top of the head and the nape display pale-blue sheens that extends to the crown in some specimens. The cheeks are yellowish-green, the 'shoulder' patch is of a nearly brownless red colour and the legs display a pronounced yellowish shade.




Layard’s Parakeet






Layard's Parakeet is a green parrot, 29 cm long including a tail up to 13 cm. The adult has a bluish-grey head and back, separated by a green collar. There is a broad black chin stripe and the tail is blue tipped yellow. The upper mandible of the male's bill is red and the lower mandible is brown.
The female is similar, but has an all black beak and less green on the face than the male. Immature birds are mainly green, with an orange bill.
Behaviour
Layard's Parakeet is a bird of forests, particularly at the edges and in clearings, and also gardens. It is locally common. It undergoes local movements, driven mainly by the availability of the fruit, seeds, buds and blossoms that make up its diet. It is less gregarious than some of its relatives, and is usually in small groups outside the breeding season, when it often feeds with Brahminy Starlings. Its flight is swift and direct, and the call is a raucous chattering. It nests in holes in large trees, laying 3–4 white eggs.
Rose Ringed Parakeet



Female at Hodal, Haryana, India.
In the wild, Rose-ringed Parakeets usually feed on buds, fruits, vegetables, nuts, berries and seeds. Wild flocks also fly several miles to forage in farmlands and orchards causing extensive damage. They have been found to feed extensively on pigeon pea
(Cajanus cajan) during winter in India.They also breed during winter unlike most other South Asian birds.
Size
Rose-ringed Parakeets measure on average 40 cm (16 inches) long including the tail feathers. Its average single wing length is about 15–17.5 cm (6-7 inches). The tail accounts for a large portion of their total length. African ssp. are slender in bodies but usually display longer tail feathers (more so in mature male specimens) than Asian ssp. which are typically stockier in bodies. The former usually display darker (brownish-red) upper mandibles while the latter always display bright-red upper-mandibles.
Aviculture
Rose-ringed Parakeets are popular as pets and they have a long history in aviculture. The ancient Greeks kept the Indian subspecies P. krameri manillensis, and the ancient Romans kept the African subspecies P. krameri krameri. Colour mutations of the Indian-ringnecked Parakeet subspecies have become widely available in recent years.
Mimicry
Both the males and females of this species has the ability to mimic human speech. First it listens to its surroundings and then it copies the voice of the human speaker. Some people hand-raise Rose-ringed Parakeet chicks for this purpose. Such parrots then become quite tame and receptive to learning. They can also show emotions similar to human beings[citation needed] and adjust easily to family life.
Wooden Pigeon

36 cm. Medium-sized, dark pigeon. Adult has slate-grey upperparts, wings and tail and lilac-grey head, neck and underparts with darker, purplish-grey breast. Black hindneck with white stippling and purplish gloss on mantle, sides of neck and breast. Similar spp. Green Imperial Pigeon Ducula aenea is larger, lacks black-and-white neck pattern, has metallic green upperparts and maroon undertail-coverts. Voice Mainly silent, but has a deep, owl-like hoo in courtship display.

Range & population Columba torringtoniae is endemic to Sri Lanka, where it occurs in the mountains of the centre of the island and the adjacent foothills of the wet zone. Its population size and trends are unclear but it appears to have declined and become increasingly fragmented since the mid 20th century, becoming uncommon in the central mountains. It is unlikely that the population is more than a few thousand individuals.