Alexandrine Parakeet

A fun fact is that the Alexandrine parakeet, also known as the Alexandrine parrot, is named after Alexander the Great who took numerous birds from what is now Punjab, India and distributed them among the elite of Europe and the Mediterranean. It is also believed that Alexander kept one as his personal pet. They are popular pets. For us in the U.S., a parakeet is synonymous with a budgerigar of Australia, which is one species of parakeet. But a parakeet is actually a small to medium sized parrot with a long tail and comprises about 115 different species. The Alexandrine parakeet is a medium-sized parrot and one of the largest parakeets. According to Wikipedia, "It is predominantly green with a light blue-grey sheen on the cheeks and nape (back of the neck), yellow-green abdomen, red patch on the shoulders and massive red beak with yellow tips. The upper-side of the tail passes from green at the top to blue further down, and is yellow at the tip. The underside of the tail is yellow. Adults are sexually dimorphic. Adult males have a black stripe across their lower cheeks and a pink band on their nape. Adult females lack both a black cheek stripe and a pink nape band. The young are similar in appearance to adult females but have shorter tails." 

We saw Alexandrine parakeets along the main paved road around Kaziranga NP. They were standing on power lines in large groups. 

 

 

 

 

 

Range map of Alexandrine parakeet, from Wikipedia.