Paul Kairouh sent me an e-mail this week
showing Rose-ringed Parakeets Psittacula
krameri he saw in King Fahd Park in Dammam. The species is a locally common
resident in larger cities in Saudi Arabia. They are relatively common in Riyadh
but outside the capital it is less frequent and rather scarce in the southwest.
They are also a common resident to towns and villages of the Gulf, including my
local patch of Dhahran and in Jeddah. They are probably an introduced species
that have become a self-sustaining resident breeder although this is unclear as
record keeping on birds of the region has not been so good over the years. I
would like to thank Paul for sending me the details and for allowing me to use
his photos on my website. Even though I see the species almost every day I have
never had the chance to photograph them properly so these photos make a welcome
addition to my website.
