Yellow footed green pigeon in Faridabad

Last year, the good wife did remark once, upon a medium sized "green" bird that briefly landed on the fence and then, was gone. Keeping my eyes peeled at the bank of teak trees, I did manage to catch glimpses of the green pigeon now and then but could not catch them on camera. A few days back, I could finally catch one of them, perched high on the tree.

Yellow footed green pigeon in Faridabad, India

Now it wonders what's going on and poof! Vanishing time! The green pigeon is called hariyal in India and is the State bird in the State of Maharashtra. Although it is widespread, sightings are rare and it hides itself exceptionally well. The yellow foot and purple patch on the shoulder are distinctive. Wish I could get some more pictures!

Pestilential Parrots

One morning, I finally got them parrots who were ravaging the sunflowers. My daughter would not allow me to shoo them away and that is perhaps the reason they allowed me to approach around the corner of the house, being reasonably assured that these humans ain't no trouble. Very smart. 

Their coloration blends in so well with the plants that it's impossible to detect them from a distance. And you can see them bending at various angles to reach the flowers, strip them clean, breaking a branch or two in the process ..

Here you can see both of them, enjoying the munchies. The petals first and  then the seeds. 

The flower has been torn off. Holding it in one hand (or foot) and busy munching.

Finally, moving out to the pomegranate tree. Maybe dessert :) Complete license, of course!