Parakeets

Indian alexanderine parakeets. The regal and exquisite birds of the town. These are found everywhere in Mumbai and nearby cities.

I have been a nature lover ever since my childhood. When I was a child the parakeets were not very profound in my residential area. I remember that when I used to hear the chirp, I would run to the balcony to see if I can spot a parakeet. Sometimes I would spot it, the other times I would simply get disappointed. I would love see those emerald green beautiful birds. They would chirp but would disappear in the trees. They would still continued to chirp as if they wanted to mock me.

When I moved to the different part of the city, the parakeets sighting became a daily phenomenon. Where I stay I would see the parakeets everyday. I see them in the morning and even in the evening. In my society complex we have a jamun tree. This tree is the favourite tree of all birds including the parakeets. The parakeet feast on the fruits this tree all day long. This is one reason why we see so many parakeets in my complex. The parakeets are not at all scared of humans. As if they know that they can live in a syndicate life with humans. Humans are their feeders, they know that very well.

One day I was working. I was staring at my laptop screen trying to understand a complicated worksheet. I heard a chirp right behind me. I turned around see where the parakeet is. It was sitting at the balcony window. It was quite a big parakeet. I was hardly a few feet away from it but it was completely unfazed. It continued to chirp while looking at me and my laptop screen. It sat there as if it was his everyday activity. I got up and brought it a chilly. I have read somewhere that they like chillies. I placed it on the other side of the balcony, so that I would not scare the parakeet. I slowly returned to my seat and watched the bird from a distance. I saw that the parakeet gracefully moved towards the other side of the balcony. It picked up the chili in a leg and started biting into it. From its movement it was apparent that the bird had enjoyed a treat. I got delighted that I was able to feed an exquisite bird. I even thought that what if this is the beginning of a new friendship. I wondered what if the parakeet would return every day for this spicy treat. What if the parakeet brings its friends along with it. How beautiful my balcony would look if so many birds gathered around here. I was thinking a lot about them.

But what I did not know was that the parakeet was not only coming to my balcony. It had been visiting almost all the houses in my complex. It was not hungry but it was greedy. So were the other packets; they were hanging around to get extra food.

The parakeets do not come to my balcony everyday. But when they visit I enjoyed to give them chilly. Maybe one day they will decide that my home is the one to be chosen for meal everyday. Keeping my finger crossed!