Rama Krishna Sangem
A beautiful parrot or parakeet perched on a guava tree branch with two ready to eat fruits is caught in the camera of former MP and Green India Challenge founder leader J Santosh Kumar. He posted four pics of this bird on X on Sunday, August 3, as part of his campaign of #weekendphotography with a tag of #happysunday. As usual, by evening these pics got not less than 2,000 views and 104 likes, in a steady stream of lovers of nature and birds.
One must visit his X handle @SantoshKumarBRS to see all the four photos of this lovely bird, only to appreciate his camerawork. While two pics are of the bird sitting, the remaining show it in action, swinging upside down to grab the guava fruit. So lovely. Santosh’s efforts to bring awareness among people about nature and wildlife can even be emulated by other leaders in public life. After all, public life is not all about politics and power.
Parrots or parakeets?
This cute green bodied and red nosed bird is all too familiar to us. In India culture, parrot is a sacred and important bird that is revered and owned by people. In Telugu, we call it Rama Chiluka, and used as a soothsayer. There is some confusion in call them parrots or parakeets. While the larger ones are called parrots, smaller ones called parakeets. But, both belong to the same family. They are seen all over the world with different colours and shapes.
Wikipedia mentions that here are four broad families of parrots and are of over 400 species. Most of them are vegetarians – fruits, nuts, seeds and vegetable, a small number of species eat insects and worms. Due to their eating habits, parrots come close to humans and our habitats. Alas, we catch them and keep in cages. Parrot pet trade is a big criminal activity in South Asia. We should hold them in our cameras, not in cages, to enjoy their beauty.