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While driving home from work today I passed one of the bigger parks (as so often). While stopping at the traffic lights I heard an unmistakable sound. A quite penetrating sound. Searching the trees I could quickly detect the causer. Rose-ringed Parakeets ( Ringnecked Parakeet/Psittacula krameri/ Halsbandsittich ) . The first time I saw one of them (years ago) I thought, oh this poor birdie ….. Did he escape from it’s cage and is now condemned to die ?! But very soon I learned that in Cologne, like in a few more other Cities in Europe, these birds had become feral. Maybe some birds did indeed escape their captivity and survived. Being curious I had a look trough the internet and this is what I found at Wikipedia: ''The Rose-ringed Parakeet has established feral populations in a number of European cities. The European populations became established during the mid to late 20th Century from introduced and escaped birds. There are two main population centres in Britain: the largest is based around south London, Surrey and Berkshire, and by 2005 consisted of many thousands of birds. A smaller population occurs around Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate, Kent. Elsewhere in Britain, smaller feral populations have established from time to time (e.g., at Studland, Dorset, Kensington Gardens, and South Manchester). It has been suggested that feral parrots could endanger populations of native British birds, and that the Rose-ringed Parakeet could even be culled as a result. In the Netherlands and Belgium, there exist a network of feral populations numbering 5000-6000 each in urbanized areas. In Germany, these birds are found along the Rhine in all major urban areas between Neuss/Düsseldorf and Heidelberg, and in the northeast of Hamburg. Other populations are found around Paris and in Barcelona.'' A phenomenon that enriched our city bird life. Whenever the distinct sound is heard you can find them quite easily. They are great fun to watch and I think they are exceptional pretty.  
(Both photos were taken in Cologne) I was rather sad though when I did read, that in some parts of South Asia these birds are decreasing due to trapping for the pet trade. The Rose-ringed Parakeet's population has dropped drastically in many areas of the Indian subcontinent. The Psittacula krameri is already on the IUCN Red list of threatened Species http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/48016/all This fact makes me appreciate their presence even more.
» 4 Comments
1Comment
at Thursday, 29 May 2008 14:04
They are very pretty birds, aren't they. I don't think i have ever seen them here in Groningen, I'll have a look at the birders sites and see if I can find something.
Your photos are wonderful, Katja. :-)
2Comment
at Thursday, 29 May 2008 19:38
Thank Gwen !
Will try to find some for you in June ;-)
3Comment
at Thursday, 29 May 2008 23:08
Oh cool! That would be great.
Ulli, we need some birdwatching time in the program. :-)
4Comment
at Friday, 30 May 2008 08:56
Lovely Pics Katja!!
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