For most of my life I desperately wanted a pair of Indian Ringnecks. I thought they were the coolest, suavest, most graceful-looking birds with that exquisite green colour and the elegant black ring on the males. One day I went shopping for a Lovebird for my son. The breeder had plenty of Lovies and a few IRNs, which captivated me. I discovered you could get purple and turquoise and a lovely pearly grey colouration. As I watched, rapt, I walked to the end of the row of cages and a clear, crisp voice said to me 'Good morning!'. It was the first magnificent Alexandrine parakeet I had ever seen and I fell immediately in love with him!
He was twice as big as the IRNs and his green colour seemed to glow in comparison to the smaller birds. His bill was so much larger and that jewel-like red contrasting with his green was so striking. The shoulder patches were like epaulettes and gave him a military bearing as he sat regarding me from his perch. I was totally smitten and decided on that day my heart's desire was to share my life with a glorious creature like this.
Many years later, I found Barney and Madge living an awful life in a darkened room with blankets on the windows to stop them shrieking. The young girl who owned them had no clue about their needs and didn't really care, since their noise had put her off them. She virtually gave them to me to get rid of them! Since then, a larger (*much* larger* cage, plenty of toys and plenty of work has meant my Beakies are polite, well-behaved and (compared to their friend, Rosetta) practically silent.
I would choose the Alexandrine parakeet first in my list of quintessential parrots, if not because of their ancient heritage, then certainly because I just LOVE them.
