Edited by Richard Walker, Friday, 30 Dec 2016, 23:34
"Listen" said my daughter, "I can hear a parakeet".
Our eyes traveled up to the top of the nearest leafless canal side poplar. There sat an exotic calling bird.
I
didn't know that these green parakeets have been seen in Amsterdam
since 1976 and are well settled. Famously they are frequent in London
parks, but they are also common in (at least) all the major cities of
the Netherlands, in the cities along the Rhine, and in Brussels.
They
are from sub-Saharan Africa, and from India and surrounding countries.
Their range extends into the foothills of the Himalayas and the birds
we see in Europe probably have some of those hardy mountain genes,
enabling them to survive cold winters. They also seem to thrive on
street food — the scraps human drop on the pavement.
Their
presence and swelling numbers here are controversial because they might
pose a threat to native bird life. Yet paradoxically wild populations
may be declining in some native habitats, because of trapping for the
pet trade. Perhaps a time will come when Rose-ringed Parakeets are
primarily a European species.
It's
said that the ancient Greeks and Romans already kept these little birds
as pets. They can taught to talk, so perhaps there would have been
Greek- and Latin-speaking parakeets
I
suppose this is some sort of Roman jest whose meaning we can't ever know
without having a time chariot. There is a miniature rake and sickle
visible. Is there a story now lost, such as "Parrots in Reins", like
"Puss in Boots"? Who can ever know?
A Feral Tale of Old Amsterdam
"Listen" said my daughter, "I can hear a parakeet".
Our eyes traveled up to the top of the nearest leafless canal side poplar. There sat an exotic calling bird.
I didn't know that these green parakeets have been seen in Amsterdam since 1976 and are well settled. Famously they are frequent in London parks, but they are also common in (at least) all the major cities of the Netherlands, in the cities along the Rhine, and in Brussels.
They are from sub-Saharan Africa, and from India and surrounding countries. Their range extends into the foothills of the Himalayas and the birds we see in Europe probably have some of those hardy mountain genes, enabling them to survive cold winters. They also seem to thrive on street food — the scraps human drop on the pavement.
Their presence and swelling numbers here are controversial because they might pose a threat to native bird life. Yet paradoxically wild populations may be declining in some native habitats, because of trapping for the pet trade. Perhaps a time will come when Rose-ringed Parakeets are primarily a European species.
It's said that the ancient Greeks and Romans already kept these little birds as pets. They can taught to talk, so perhaps there would have been Greek- and Latin-speaking parakeets
"Χαιρε"
"Quis ergo est a pulchellus puer?"
Here's a charming mosaic I came across when reading up about Freya and her cat-chariot.
I suppose this is some sort of Roman jest whose meaning we can't ever know without having a time chariot. There is a miniature rake and sickle visible. Is there a story now lost, such as "Parrots in Reins", like "Puss in Boots"? Who can ever know?
Image https://gallivance.net/2014/11/07/digging-ancient-art-literally-colognes-dionysus-mosaic/parrot-mosaic/#main