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PLATE 63: GREEN PIGEON AND PARAKEETS
Bruce’s Green Pigeon Treron waalia RB, mb
L: 31. Unmistakable, brightly coloured dove with olive-green upperparts, greyish-green head,
neck and upper breast, sharply defined from bright yellow below; undertail-coverts chestnut.
Purple patch on shoulder is absent in juvenile. Uppertail uniform, undertail white with black base.
Flight very rapid, wings making rattling sound. Hard to see when perched in tree and often shy;
feeds in flocks. Voice Distinctive loud querulous crooning whistle somewhat like Tawny Owl, and
a quarrelsome chatter. Habitat Open country, gardens with bushes and tall trees, especially figs,
wooded wadis, palm groves. Note Partial migrant. In Oman, only in south. [Alt: Yellow-bellied Green
Pigeon]Alexandrine Parakeet Psittacula eupatria E/I
L: 53–58. Resembles distinctly larger version of Rose-ringed Parakeet, with clearly heavier bill
and large red patch on shoulders at all ages (sometimes partly hidden when perched), which is
absent in Rose-ringed Parakeet. Rose-pink neck-ring of adult male easily seen; other sex and age
differences as in Rose-ringed. Voice Range of notes uttered, most loud and hoarse, commonest
a deep macaw-like screaming note kerrrck with stress on first syllable, repeated 2–3 times.
Habitat Parks, gardens and plantations; nests in hole in tree or building. Note Not native; escaped
birds now naturalised.Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri RB
L: 42. Large green parakeet with long, graduated, pointed tail and red bill. In male, black throat
continues round neck as a narrow rosy ring, absent in female; also absent in juvenile, which
has a green throat and horn-coloured bill. Flight swift, fast and direct but flocks often change
direction rather suddenly. Voice Noisy; loud screaming kee-ak, rather falcon-like and piercing.
Habitat Gardens and open wooded; also near cultivation; nests, often colonially, in holes in tree
or wall. Note Colonies outside Iran probably originate from escapes. [Alt: Ring-necked Parakeet]Plum-headed Parakeet Psittacula cyanocephala E/I
L: 36. Slim, fast-flying parakeet; tail blue-green with whitish tip. Male has plum-red head; female
has grey head with yellow upper breast and rear neck-collar. Both sexes have yellow-horn upper
and dark lower mandibles, as does plainer, green-headed juvenile. Voice A shrill too-ik, too-ik; male
chatters in flight, often ending with distinctive, hurried ringing der-wink. Habitat Wooded parks and
gardens. Note A few free-flying in Muscat area; may have bred but not yet naturalised.