Red-breasted Parakeet (Psittacula alexandri)

Red-breasted parakeets (Psittacula alandri)

I had one of these wonderful, unexpected moments of plain joy this last weekend, when sitting under the shade of the angsana trees lining the Changi Village boulevard, I 'discovered' this large flock of noisy parakeets. I had previously come across some random sightings of these birds before, and I have never gone looking for them,....but here they were ....noisily screeching and making their presence felt in the otherwise quiet balmy evening of the village. I was surprised at how many there were....must have been several flocks there totalling at least 50 birds.

These are the Red-breasted parakeets, (or sometimes called the moustached parakeet) identified usually as Psittacula alexandri, although some have suggested some admixture with a fasciata strain. At close inspection, they are actually quite beautiful birds, ... their colourful plumage making them quite striking even from a distance.

I was just so pleased to have encountered them. Apparently that stretch of angsana trees are home to the Tanimbar Cockatoo (Cacatua goffini) as well, but I didn't see them that evening.

A nice report of these birds in Changi Village can be found here.