Parakeet Elton, 23 August 2001
Video stills by Brian Stone. Last updated 25 September 2001
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PBC ID Corner Parakeet Elton, 23 August 2001 Video stills by Brian Stone. Last updated 25 September 2001 |
The following bird was filmed as it briefly visited a garden in Elton, Cambridgeshire by Brian Stone on 23 August 2001.
Initially identified tentatively as Ring-necked Parakeet this bird prompted some investigation mainly because of the bulky all pale-pink bill. The lack of distingishing marks and dark eye indicate it is probably a juvenile.
Comments so far:
Brian Stone 24/8/01: I immediately assumed Ring-neck Parakeet but now I'm not 100%. All lime-green, slightly paler on front, dark green primaries and greater coverts. Slightly greyer on head. Very long green tail with slight blue tinge on upper side and yellower base. Tapers after about two thirds in a wedge to tip. All sounds fine so far. Eye all dark. Slightly darker green brow reaching forward from eye to base of bill. Very heavy deep parrot bill with much larger upper mandible. Both mandibles a deep salmon pink. Is this Ok for juv. I have no reference for juv plumage. The description is fine for female apart from bill and eye colour. The eye should be yellow with black centre and red orbital ring. Bill should be rose-red with black lower mandible.
I had a look at Birds of the Western Palearctic. Turns out my field guides (incl the new Collins guide!) are a little misleading to show a black lower mandible as this is only true of races other than "borealis", the one at large in UK. So even an adult would be expected to have a red lower mandible here and so in a juvenile it is also quite likely. The description of juvenile in BWP matches my bird perfectly.
Christopher Butler of Project Parakeet 16/9/01: I took a look at the images on your website of the parakeet. The images appear to be of a juvenile Alexandrine Parakeet (Psittacula eupatria) rather than a juvenile Ring-necked Parakeet (Psittacula krameri). The most notable difference is the large bill. Alexandrine Parakeets have a noticeably larger bill than Ring-necked Parakeets. Additionally, the lower mandible appears to be the same colour as the upper mandible. While the lower mandible of the P. k. borealis is often reddish, there is a almost always some black at the base of the lower mandible. Additionally, the red on the lower mandible of P. k. borealis is typically a slightly darker shade of red. In contrast, the lower mandible of an Alexandrine Parakeet is the same shade of red as the upper mandible and no black is present.
I am unable to see the characteristic red shoulder patch in the images posted on your website. However, these shoulder patches can be surprisingly difficult to see. I've seen five feral Alexandrine Parakeets in the UK so far, and the shoulder patches on all of them are far less conspicuous than what is typically shown in a field guide. In addition, it appears that the darkness of this shoulder patch may be related to food quality. The pair of Alexandrine Parakeets that are nesting near Sidcup, Kent, for example, have a shoulder patch that fades to a light orange during the winter but darkens to a dark red by late spring. It is possible that the bird that was seen was malnourished and so had a lighter shoulder patch than normal.
Philip Precey 24/9/01: from Grimmett, Inskipp & Inskipp (Birds of the Indian Subcontinent): Alexandrine: 'a very large (53cm), all green parakeet with huge red bill. Considerably darker than [Ring-necked], and best told from that species by combination of large size, maroon shoulder patch and massive bill. Distinctive call and slower and more laboured flight are additional pointers. Male has black chin stripe, joining pink and turquoise hindcollar, both of which are lacking on female and immature. Voice, a loud gutteral keeak or kee-ah, deeper and more raucous than that of [Ring-necked]. Robson (field guide to South-east Asia) has 'Juvenile. Both sexes like female but duller with smaller shoulder patch, shorter tail and duller bill.'
I saw Alexandrine Parakeets last year in India, and each bird seen was very noticeably bigger than Ring-necked Parakeet, and in each case, the shoulder patch was very obvious, both 'on the deck' and in flight, a deep maroon colour. I guess juveniles might be smaller than adults, but how much smaller?? Alexandrine is a big old bird. [Looking at the pictures] I ... don't ... [have] any thoughts at all other than 'ring-necked parakeet'... I do just remember Alexandrine's as being whoppas that felt more like 'parrots' than 'parakeets'.
Some Ring-necked Parakeet links with pictures:
Project Parakeet
http://www.vino.demon.co.uk/fong/parak.html
http://www.vino.demon.co.uk/fong/parak2.html
http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/jblincow/images/rnparak.jpg
