The Red-breasted parakeet, Psittacula alexandri, is among the more widespread species of the genus and is the species which has the most geographical variations. It is easily identified by the large reddish patch on its breast. An alternative name is the Moustached Parakeet depending on subspecies. Most of the subspecies are confined to small islands or a cluster of islands in Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

. One subspecies occurs in the Andaman islands

Andaman Islands

The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...

, and one subspecies occurs in continental Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

 and partly extending to northeastern parts of South Asia

South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...

 along the foothills of the Himalayas. Some of the island races may be threatened by the wild bird trade. The nominate race, which occurs in Java, is close to extinction.

Feral

Feral

A feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...

 populations of this species have now established themselves in cities like Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

 and small numbers occur in other cities such as Chennai

Chennai

Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

 and Bangalore

Bangalore

Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

 in India.

The scientific specific name commemorates Alexander the Great whose armies introduced eastern parakeets to Greece. It was the first eponym in scientific avian nomenclature in its original form of Psittacus alexandri Linnaeus, 1758.

Taxonomy

There are several subspecies:

Psittacula alexandri (Linnaeus) 1758

• Psittacula alexandri abbotti (Oberholser) 1919
• Psittacula alexandri alexandri (Linnaeus) 1758
• Psittacula alexandri cala (Oberholser) 1912
• Psittacula alexandri dammermani Chasen & Kloss 1932
• Psittacula alexandri fasciata (Statius Muller) 1776
• Psittacula alexandri kangeanensis Hoogerwerf 1962
• Psittacula alexandri major (Richmond) 1902
• Psittacula alexandri perionca (Oberholser) 1912

External links

• Oriental Bird Images: Red-breasted Parakeet Selected photos