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in humid evergreen forest. It is very fond of termites and thus plays an
important part in keeping this pest under control.
(11) Order Psittaciformes.—Parrots are a well defined Order of
tropical birds containing over 300 species. India has no true parrots but
has 14 species of parakeets and five of these are found in Maharashtra.
They are popular cage birds.
The birds of this order have zygodactyle type of feet with the first and
the fourth toes turned permanently backward. They live on nuts and fruits
and can do a great deal of damage to agriculture. A special type of hinge at
the base of their skull enables them to move the upper mandible and to
crush extremely hard objects easily. They nest in natural holes in trees,
walls and other places. They are extremely noisy and outside the breeding
season congregate in vast flocks which have their favourite roosting sites.
The largest parakeet in India is the Alexandrine Parakeet Psittacula
eupatria named after Alexander the Great, who is supposed to have taken
these birds from India. The male of this species has a prominent red patch
on the wings and a pink and black collar. The female lacks these
adornments. This species is not uncommon along the Vindhya Range but it
does not occur in the Deccan.
The Rose-ringed Parakeet P. krameri is our commonest parakeet and a
lively little bird affecting both thin forest and cultivation. As in the former
species the male has a rosy and black collar while the female is plain
green. Both sexes have pale yellow beaks.
The Blue-winged Parakeet, P. columboides is fairly common in the
evergreen forests of the Western Ghats. The Indian Lorikeet, Loriculus
vernalis is the smallest member of this family being the size of a house
sparrow. This bird has a brushlike tongue which enables it to feed on the
nectar of flowers, and it plays an important part in cross pollination of
flowers. It sleeps hanging head downwards like a bat and is a cold weather
visitor to Maharashtra.
FAUNA 564