Table Of ContentFOOD OF THE ROSE-RINGED PARAKEETPSITTACULA KRAMERI: A
QUANTITATIVE STUDY
1
HarjeetK. Saini, Manju S. Dhindsa and H.S. Toor2
(With two text-figures)
Keywords: feedingecology,Psittaculakrameri,dietdiversity,food-nichebreadth
GutcontentsoftheRose-ringedParakeet Psittaculakrameri(Scopoli)wereanalysedgravimetricallyduring
August1988toJuly 1989inanintensivelycultivatedareaofPunjab. Cereals(45%oftotalcontents)andtree
seeds(38%) werethepredominantfoodofthespecies. Amongcereals,sorghum(21%)wasthemostabundant.
Guavarankedfirstamongtreeseedsforming24%oftheedietfollowedbymulberry(about 10%). Oilseeds
formedabout9%andweedseedsnearly3%ofthecontents. Pearlmillet,sorghumandmaizewereconsumed
insignificantproportionsduringAugusttoDecember. Guavaseedswererecordedinlargeproportionsfrom
JanuarytoMarchandJulytoAugust. MulberryseedsformedthemainbulkofthefoodinAprilandMay. Weed
seedsbelongingtofivetaxawererecordedfromApriltoJune,August,OctoberandFebruary. FoodoftheRose-
ringedParakeetwasmorediversefromAugusttoOctoberandJanuarytoMarchthanduringrestoftheyear.
Shannon-Wienerindex,equitabilityandLevins’ indexofthefood-nichebreadthwerecalculatedtobe1.02,0.80
and0.33,respectively.
Introduction reported to damage sorghum (Cunningham-Van
Someren 1969) and in Mauritius it isstated tobea
TheRose-ringedParakeet Psittaculakrameri destructivebird pest (Benedict 1957).
(Scopoli)isthemostwidespreadspeciesamongthe Despite the widespread distribution and pest
parrotsoftheworld(Grzimek 1972). Distributedin statusoftheRose-ringedParakeet, littleinformation
Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, isavailableon its foodand feedingbehaviour. Ali
Myanmar and Sri Lanka, this species has invaded and Ripley (1983) have mentioned fruits, cereals
Mauritius,ZanzibarIsland,England,U.S.A.,Saudi andseeds ofallkindsofwild andcultivatedplants
Arabia, Israel and Germany through man-made as the food of this species. Although qualitative
and/ornaturalintroductions(Long1981,Dvir1988, information on its food is available from Punjab
Lantermann 1989, Stagg 1989). In India, Rose- (SimwatandSidhu 1973, ToorandRamzan 1974)
ringed Parakeet has been rated as the number one and Andhra Pradesh (Shivanarayan 1982), there
bird pest of agriculture and horticulture (Ali and has been no serious study providing quantitative
Ripley 1983, Babu and Muthukrishnan 1987). In data from any part ofIndia. This paperpresents a
Punjab,themostintensivelycultivatedstateofIndia, detailedquantitativedescriptionofthediet,seasonal
itinflictsheavydamagetomaize,sunflower,mustard, variation in the relativeproportion ofvarious food
guava,almonds,peachandsoon(RamzanandToor types and the food-nichebreadth ofthis species.
1972, 1973, Simwat and Sidhu 1973, Toor and
Ramzan 1974,ToorandSandhu 1981, Sandhu and Material and Methods
Dhindsa 1982, Dhindsa et al. 1992), and thus
warrantscontrol. InBangladeshalso,thisspeciesis Thestudywasconductedinthefieldareaofthe
consideredtobethemajorpestofmaizeandsunflower Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana (30° 56'
(Sultana and Brooks 1986). In Africa, it has been N,75°52*E,c. 247mabovethem.s.l.) fromAugust
1988 to July 1989. The study area is intensively
1Accepted February 1992. cultivated with two main crop seasons: rabi
2AllIndiaCoordinatedResearchProjectonAgriculturalOrnithology, (October-NovembertoApril-May)andkharif(June-
Department ofZoology,PunjabAgriculturalUniversity,
Ludhiana- 141 004. August to September-October). The major kharif
1
FOOD OFTHEROSE-RINGEDPARAKEETPSITTACULA KRAMERI 97
cropsarerice,maizeandpearl millet,andrabicrops respectively(Table1). Oilseeds(mustard,sunflower
arewheatandmustard. Theclimateofthestudyarea and groundnut) accounted for about 9% and weed
is of semi-arid monsoon type. Generally, four seedsnearly3%ofthetotaldiet. Gram,recordedin
seasons are experienced in a year: summerorpre- onlythreeof88gutsdissected,madeonly2%ofthe
monsoonseason (ApriltoJune), monsoon (Julyto total contents. Unidentified vegetative matter,
September), post-monsoon (October to November) consistingofcrushedleavesandseedhusks,formed
andwinter(Decemberto March). about2%ofthediet. Gritwasrecordedin 14%ofthe
In total, 88 birds were collected using a 0.22 guts analysed and formed 1 % ofthe total intake.
airgun. Monthly sample sizes ranged from 5 to 1 Amongcereals,sorghumwasthepredominant
exceptin Decemberwhenonlytwoparakeetscould foodmaking about21%ofthedietandwasrecorded
be collected. Soon after collection, the birds were in 15% ofthegutsanalysed(Table 1). Pearl millet,
dissected and the guts (esophagus and gizzard) maize and wheat each constituted 6-7% ofthediet
openedtoextractcontents.Thecontentswerewashed and was recorded in 7-15% of the guts analysed.
throughanylonsieveanddriedonblottingpapersat Rice was consumed in very low proportions and
room temperature. They were then sorted and formedonly 4% ofthetotal diet.
weighed on an electric balance to the nearest of Among tree seeds, those of guava were
0.001 g. Monthly summaries of the relative predominant as they alone accounted for nearly
proportions by weight of various food types were 24% of the diet. Following guava were seeds of
prepared. mulberry(10%)andsissoo(4%). Seedsofsirisand
Three indices were used to study the food- dek were recorded in relatively very small
nichebreadth(Krebs1989):Shannon-Wienerindex proportions. Weed seeds offive taxa formed only
(H'), equitability (T) and Levins’index (B). These 2.8% ofthediet, ofwhich Crotalariamedicaginea
indiceswerecalculated as follows: accounted formore than 2%.
H' = - £ pi logpi, The values of three indices of food-niche
where,piistheproportionoftheith foodtype breadth viz., Shannon-Wiener index, equitability
in the diet; and Levins’ standardized index were calculated to
J’= H'/H' max, be 1.02, 0.80 and 0.33,respectively.
where,H'maxisthelogoftotalnumberoffood Seasonal changes in the diet: Sorghum was
typesrecorded in the guts; and recorded in significant amounts in the guts of the
B = IfLpi2. Rose-ringed Parakeet from August to January. Its
Levins'indexwasstandardizedtoexpressiton proportion in the diet increased steadily from less
ascaleof0 to 1.0 following Hurlbert (1978) as: than 10% in August to 76% in December and
declinedrapidlyto 18%inJanuary(Fig.1). Relative
BA=(B-l)/(n-l) proportionofpearlmilletexceededthatofanyother
cereal in August (22%) and September (40%),
where, BA is Levins’ standardized niche whereasin twoothermonthswhenrecorded,itonly
breadth, andnisthenumberoffoodtypesrecorded. supplemented the diet. Maize constituted
considerable proportion (16-23%) ofthe diet from
Results SeptembertoNovember. Itwasalsorecordedinfour
other monthsbutonly in small proportions (<5%).
Diet Composition: Gravimetric analysis of Among the other cereals recorded in the guts of
gut contents of88 Rose-ringed Parakeets revealed parakeets, rice in January (25%) and wheat in
cereals and tree seeds as their predominant food March (20%) and July (51%) were predominant
comprising 45% and 38% of the total contents, (Fig.l). Among oilseeds, groundnut in February
— —
r r
ii
98 JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 91 (1994)
80-i
Sorghum
X Oilseeds
40-
——— ————
t i i i t i i i i
40n
Weed seeds
(%)
O b=VH=l-
i i i ,
Weight
by
Abundance 80-
Mulberry
60-
——————
0^-—i i i i i i
Relative
Other tree seeds
20-i Gram
10 Grit
R R
—n ————— ——— t t t t R=a-
0
ASONiDiJFMAMJi Ji ASONDJFMAMJJ
i
n = 7 5 Z 7 11 5 7 7 11 10 6 lO
Fig. 1.SeasonalvariationsinthefoodoftheRose-ringedParakeetduringAugust 1988toJuly 1989(t=traces,i.e.<1%).
Figuresbelowmonthsalong X-axisindicatesamplesizes.
%
FOODOFTHEROSE-RINGEDPARAKEETPSITTACULA KRAMERI 99
nn
Shannon-Wiener Index Equitability Levins' Index (Std.)
Fig.2.Seasonalvariationsinthreeindicesoffood-nichebreadthoftheRose-ringedParakeetduring
August 1988toJuly 1989.
(17%),mustardboth in February(17%)andMarch 10%ofthefood. Sirisseedswere recordedinthediet
(18%), and sunflower in June (82%) formed a only in March (12%) and dek seeds only in April
significantproportion ofthediet. (<1%).
The occurrence of guava seeds was more Weed seedsformedconsiderableproportion(9-
prevalent in the diet than any other tree seed as 28%) ofthe diet only from April to June. Seeds of
these were recorded in the guts in variable Crotolariamedicagineawereabundantinthedietin
proportionsthroughoutthe yearexceptinMayand AprilandMayandthoseofRumexspp.inAugustand
June (Fig.1). Guava seeds dominated the diet in June. Other weed seed, recorded in very small
August(58%)andalsofrom JanuarytoMarch(30- proportions(<1%),wereof Trigonellapolycerata,T.
45%). In July, this food type ranked second in foenum-graecum and Melilotus alba. Vegetative
abundance after wheat. From September to matterthatcouldnotbeidentifiedrangedfrom <1 to
December,guavaseedsaccountedfor10-20%ofthe 4% of the diet in six months of the study. The
total food. Mulberry seeds formed the majorfood proportionofthismatter,however,wasabout 10%in
ofparakeetsinAprilandMay,constituting64-75 July. Gritwas recorded in eightmonthsofthestudy
ofthe total food. Among other tree seeds, those of constituting <1% of the total intake in August to
sissoo formed about 16% of the diet in February, November and 2-5% in December, January,
whereas,in fourothermonthstheyformedlessthan March and June.
100 JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 91 (1994)
SeasonalVariations in Food-NicheBreadth: Sorghum, cultivated for fodder purpose in
Seasonalvariationsin thethreeindicesoffood-niche muchofPunjab,wasthesecondabundantfoodtype
breadth(Fig.2)revealedthatthefoodofparakeetswas recorded in theguts. Itwasthe mostpreferredone
morediversefrom AugusttoOctoberandJanuaryto among the cereals. Wheat and rice, the two major
March. ThemaximumvaluesofLevins’standardized cerealcropsofPunjab,constituted only3-6%ofthe
index (0.56) andequitability(0.85)wererecorded in diet. Simwat and Sidhu (1973) mentioned the
March, while that of food diversity (0.73) was in presenceofsorghuminparakeetdietbutwithoutany
February. Similarly, minimum values of Levins’ quantification. Shivanarayan (1982) reported rice
index (0.8) and equitability (0.42) were recorded in and sorghum as themostpreferredcerealseatenby
April and thatoffood diversity(0.28) in June. parakeets in Andhra Pradesh butquantitative data
werelacking. Inlaboratoryexperiments,westudied
Discussion preferences of captive parakeets for sorghum and
twootherkharifcerealsviz. riceand maize (Saini
,
Basedon therelative proportionsofdifferent and Dhindsa 1993) Parakeets preferred sorghum
.
foodtypesrecordedin this study,guava seedswere over the other two cereals in these experiments.
the predominant foodoftheRose-ringedParakeet. Sorghum, therefore, may be used as a lure or trap
Interestingly, the pulp of guava fruits was not crop forreducing parakeet damage to maize.
recordedinanyofthegutsanalysed,suggestingthat Guava seeds were recorded in the guts
parakeets ate only the seeds. To test this, guava throughout the year except in May and June.
fruitswereprovided to twocagedparakeets. These However, relatively high proportions of this food
birdsconsumedonlytheseeds. Toexposeseeds,the type(>30%) occurred in thedietduringJanuary to
wholepulpwascutintosmallpiecesanddiscarded. MarchandJulytoAugustwhichcoincidedwiththe
The seeds were crushed with powerful bills as two main fruiting seasons ofthis crop. During this
evidencedbythesoundofcrackingseedsthatcould periodripeguava fruits are abundantandprobably
beheardatadistanceof3m.Guavaseedsrecovered it is easier for parakeets to extract seeds from ripe
fromthegutswereverywellmasticated. In Punjab fruits. InMayandJune,however,parakeetspreferred
andUttarPradesh,Rose-ringedParakeetisreported to feed on mulberry, sunflower and Crotalaria
to cause 20-30% damage to guava (Ramzan and medicaginearatherthan onguavaseeds. This may
Toor 1972, Singh and Kumar 1982). The Rose- bebecauseofenergyrequirementreasons;apparently
ringedParakeethasoftenbeentermedafrugivorous less energy is needed to collect mulberry and
birdbutourstudysuggeststhatthisspeciesdoesnot sunflower as compared to extracting seeds from
feedon guavafruits buton their seeds. In case of unripeguavafruits. FromAugusttoDecemberpearl
almondsalso,parakeetshavebeenreportedtobreak millet, sorghum and maize formed significant
thefruittoextractandeattheirkernels,leavingthe proportionofthediet. Pearlmilletandsorghumare
hullandstoneportionsattachedtotheplants(Sandhu raised as fodder crops in the study area, hence the
and Dhindsa 1982). The fruits ofpeach, however, damagetotheirearheadsisoflittle concern.Maize,
are damaged differently. Parakeets eat the pulp of however, suffers heavy damage (12-21%) from
ripening peach fruits but do not break the seeds parakeets (Ramzan and Toor 1973, Simwat and
(ToorandSandhu 1981),probablybecausetheyare Sidhu 1973).From JanuarytoJune,cerealsformed
very hard. For other fruits, it remains to be seen onlysmall proportionsofthedietexceptforricein
whether parakeets eat the succulent parts (as in January andwheatin March. Wheatandrice were
peach)ordamagethemtoexposeandeattheirseeds notrecorded in the guts ofparakeets during April-
(asinguava). Nevertheless,thefruitsaredamaged. May and October-November, respectively, the
FOOD OFTHEROSE-RINGEDPARAKEETPSITTACULA KRAMERI 101
Table 1
OCCURRENCEANDRELATIVEABUNDANCEOFDIFFERENTFOODTYPESINTHEGUTCONTENTSOFTHE
ROSE-RINGEDPARAKEET(N=88)FROMAUGUST1988TOJULY 1989
FoodType Occurrenceinguts Relativeabundance
Frequency % (%bydryweight)
Cereals
Sorghum Sorghumvulgare 13 14.8 20.8
Pearlmillet Pennisetum typhoides 6 6.8 7.4
MaizeZeamays 13 14.8 6.5
WheatTriticumaestivum 11 12.5 6.4
RiceOryzasativa 7 8.0 3.6
Totalcereals 44.7
Oilseeds
Mustard Brassicacampestris 9 10.2 3.8
Sunflower Helianthusannuus 2 2.3 2.9
Groundnut Arachishypogaea 1 1.1 2.4
Totaloilseeds 9.1
Pulse
Gram Ciceraeriatinum 3 3.4 2.4
TreeSeeds
GuavaPsidiumguajava 58 65.9 23.6
M
Mulberry orusalba 17 19.3 9.9
SissooDalbergiasissoo 10 11.4 3.8
Siris Albizzialebbek 2 2.3 0.9
DekMeliaazedarach 1 1.1 <0.1
Totaltreesseeds 38.2
WeedSeeds
Crotolariamedicaginea 5 5.7 2.3
Rumexspp. 2 2.3 0.4
Trigonellapolycerata 1 1.1 0.1
Melilotusalba 1 1.1 <0.1
Trigonellafoenum-graecum 1 1.1 <0.1
Totalweedseeds 2.8
UnidentifiedVegetativeMatter 21 23.9 1.7
Grit 12 13.6 1.0
) )
102 JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 91 (1994)
periodsduringwhich thesecropsin maturingstage wererecordedinonlytwogutsofparakeetsanalysed
areabundantlyavailableinthefields. Thisindicated in this study and formed 3% ofthe total contents.
that wheat and rice are not the preferred foods of This may be because of the small sample sizes in
parakeets. In January, rice was most probably May and June.
consumedfromgrainstoresbecauseitisnotavailable Thefoodofparakeetswasmorediverseduring
in the fields during this month. Parakeets, along August-October and January-March than during
with sparrows, doves, pigeons, mynas, etc. restoftheyear. The lowdietdiversity, equitability
congregate at grain stores and rice-shelling yards andfood-nichebreadthduringNovember-December
during December-March and feedon storedpaddy were probably because of the overdominance of
(Sandhu and Toor 1984). sorghuminthegutcontents.Thelowvaluesofthese
Oilseeds(mustard,sunflowerandgroundnut) indices in April-June resulted from the
formed a considerable proportion of the diet in preponderance oftree seeds. In anotherstudy, low
February, March and June. Parakeets have been diet diversity of the House Sparrow Passer
reportedtocauseextensivedamage(63%)tomustard domesticus was recorded in September-October
(SimwatandSidhu 1973)duringthisperiod. From and January-February owing to the predominance
ApriltoJuneparakeetssubsistedon seedsofnative ofpearl milletin the formerandwheatin thelatter
trees(mainlymulberry)andweedseedsofCrotolaria period (Saini and Dhindsa 1991).
medicagineadespitethepresenceofmaturingwheat
in the fields. Sunflower crop, which has recendy
been introduced for oilseed production, matures Acknowledgements
duringMay-Juneandprovidesafeastforparakeets.
In spite of intensive manual scaring, this crop We wish to thank the Indian Council of
suffers heavy damage from this species (Toor and AgriculturalResearch forfinancialassistance. Mr.
Ramzan 1974). In smallunattendedcropsdamage Ram Parshadcollectedparakeetsforthis study,Dr.
may range from 90 to 100% (unpublished data). U.S. Walia identified weed seeds, and Dr. M.S.
The maturity ofthis cropand thelean-food period Saini and an anonymous referee commented on
We
ofparakeets are sowell matchedthatitsprotection earlierdraftsofthis manuscript. aregrateful to
hasbecomeverydifficult.Sunflowerseeds,however. all ofthem.
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