Are Indian Ring-Necked Rose-Ringed Parakeets Still at Ellora Caves?

Summary: Indian ring-necked rose-ringed parakeets perhaps accompany Indian three-lined palm squirrels about, and yakshi statues in, the Ellora Caves in west India.

Indian ring-necked rose-ringed parakeets (Psittacula krameri manillensis) companionably enjoy feeding moments with Indian three-striped palm squirrels (Funambulus palmarum) in Cubbon Park (officially: Sri Chamarajendra Park), central Bengaluru (Bangalore), Karnataka, southwestern India; Friday, Aug. 7, 2009: Ajith Kumar (Ajith_chatie), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Indian ring-necked, rose-ringed parakeets associate with Indian three-striped palm squirrels actually and yakshi statues artistically perhaps in the Ellora Caves, Maharashtra, west India, and in central and south India and Sri Lanka.

Indian ring-necked, rose-ringed parakeets and three-striped palm squirrels (Funambulus palmarum), perhaps brave deforested, open urbanization near Buddhist, Hindu and Jain cave temples in the Ellora Caves. They consume insect pests; plant nectar; and wild berries, blossoms, buds, fruits, nuts and seeds throughout their life cycles, especially during mating seasons December through January. Newborns develop, from one to seven-egg clutches incubated three weeks February through April in 14.88-inch (37.8-centimeter) deep nests at 20.99-foot (6.4-meter) above-ground heights, into seven-week-old fledglings.

Juvenile Indian ring-necked rose-ringed parakeets embrace the same colors and looks as physically and sexually mature females except that they exhibit grayer irises and paler beaks.

Indian ring-necked rose-ringed parakeets, featured scientifically by Johann Bechstein (July 11, 1757-Feb. 23, 1822), flourish plain cheeks and necks and short central tail feathers as females.

Indian ring-necked rose-ringed parakeets, Psittacula krameri manillensis (from Latin psittacus, "parrot" and -ula, "little") scientifically, get black-lined cheeks and necks and pink-collared, blue-naped necks as males. Wilhelm Kramer's (1724-Oct. 13, 1765) physically, sexually mature namesakes have rose-ringed eyes with white-yellow irises; black-tipped red upper and black-red lower mandibles; green-yellow faces and abdomens. They include olive-tinged green-white backs; bright green rumps and uppertail coverts; black-green greater coverts; black-margined black-green primaries and secondaries; gray-undersided flight feathers; and green-yellow underwing coverts.

Physically and sexually mature Indian ring-necked rose-ringed parakeets juggle long, pointed tails with blue-uppersided, green-yellow-tipped central and green-uppersided, olive-yellow-undersided outer feathers; and clawed, gray-green, three-toed feet.

Twenty-five to 30-year life cycles kindle average 16.5-inch (42-centimeter) head-body lengths and average 4.5-ounce (130-gram) weights in physically and sexually mature three-plus-year-old Indian ring-necked, rose-ringed parakeets.

Mature females log 0.71 to 0.88-inch (18 to 22.2-millimeter) bill, 5.63 to 5.98-inch (143 to 152-millimeter) wing and 6.97 to 9.45-inch (177 to 240-millimeter) tail lengths. Mature males manifest 0.71 to 0.88-inch (18 to 22.2-millimeter) bill, 5.66 to 6.18-inch (144 to 157-millimeter) wing and 7.64 to 10.95-inch (194 to 278-millimeter) tail lengths. They need 0.19 to 172.32-inch (5 to 4,377-millimeter) mean annual rainfall and mean annual temperatures between 46.94 and 85.46 degrees Fahrenheit (8.3 and 29.7 degrees Celsius).

Bogs, farmlands, forests, grasslands, marshes, plantations, rainforests, swamps and urban woodland gardens and parks through 6,561.68-foot (2,000-meter) altitudes above sea level occasion Indian ring-necked, rose-ringed parakeets.

Abyssinian rose-ringed parakeets (P. kramer parvirostris, by Charles de Souancé, May 2, 1823-Jan. 23, 1896) proliferate in northern Ethiopia; northwest Ethiopia; and Sennar district, southeast Sudan.

Fellow African rose-ringed parakeets (Psittacular krameri krameri, by Carl Linnaeus, May 23, 1707-Jan. 10, 1778) queue up from Guinea, Senegal and Mauretania through Sudan and Uganda. Fellow 16.93-inch (43-centimeter) long Neumann's boreal rose-ringed parakeets (P. krameri borealis, for Oscar Newmann, Sept. 3, 1867-May 17, 1946) roam central and north India and Nepal. Stable populations, steady birth rates and survivalist habitat tolerances suggest an International Union for Conservation of Nature status of least concern for Indian ring-necked, rose-ringed parakeets.

Indian ring-necked rose-ringed parakeets perhaps still transmit amid the Ellora Caves alarmed ak-ak-ak and krrr, rapid kew-kew-kew, screechy kee-ak and soft prrr sounds to yak-yak-yaking youngsters.

Foggy view from Ellora Caves reveals vegetation, including young plants and tree canopies, and moisture, which provide sustainable habitats for Indian ring-necked rose-ringed parakeets (Psittacula krameri manillensis); Ellora Caves, Maharashtra state, western peninsular India; Sunday, July 27, 2008, 16:44:38: Olof Werngren (olofw), CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Indian ring-necked rose-ringed parakeets (Psittacula krameri manillensis) companionably enjoy feeding moments with Indian three-striped palm squirrels (Funambulus palmarum) in Cubbon Park (officially: Sri Chamarajendra Park), central Bengaluru (Bangalore), Karnataka, southwestern India; Friday, Aug. 7, 2009: Ajith Kumar (Ajith_chatie), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/36008503@N03/3800455089/

Foggy view from Ellora Caves reveals vegetation, including young plants and tree canopies, and moisture, which provide sustainable habitats for Indian ring-necked rose-ringed parakeets (Psittacula krameri manillensis); Ellora Caves, Maharashtra state, western peninsular India; Sunday, July 27, 2008, 16:44:38: Olof Werngren (olofw), CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/olofw/2743199987

For further information:

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Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.1544/page/n5/mode/1up

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Indian Three-Striped Palm Squirrels Augur the Hindu Ellora Caves

Summary: Indian three-striped palm squirrels, auspicious augurs in Hinduism, act with area bats against insect pests around the Ellora Caves of Maharashtra, India.

Indian three-striped palm squirrel (Funambulus palmarum) at Ellora Caves, Maharashtra state, western peninsular India; June 9, 2012: Apurv Kiri, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Indian three-striped palm squirrels, animals appreciated by ancient Hindu deity Rama (from Sanskrit राम, "to please"), perhaps artfully approach Hindu over Buddhist and Jain temples in the Ellora Caves of Maharashtra, India.

The Sciuridae (from Greek σκιά, "shadow"; οὐρά, "tail"; and -ειδής, "-like") family member bears three Rama-blessed stripes for bearing beach sand to Rama's Laccadive Sea bridge. Physically and sexually mature female Indian three-striped palm squirrels construct grass-woven, treetop nests for 34-day gestations of two to three-baby litters during annual fall mating seasons. Blind, dependent, hairless newborn Indian three-striped palm squirrels immediately display their parents' distinct, white eye surrounds and white middle head-tail and two front-leg to rear-leg stripes.

Information-gathering whiskered faces and legs, rear-leg ankle rotations of 180 degrees and vision ranges of almost 360 degrees evoke sustainable newborn and nestling litter-raising by mothers.

Indian three-striped palm squirrels, featured by Carl Linnaeus (May 23, 1707-Jan. 10, 1778), furnish 1/1, 2/1 and 3/3 upper/lower-jaw incisor, premolar and molar right/left jaw dentitions.

The four-clawed, four-toed feet of Indian three-striped palm squirrels, grouped as Funambulus palmarum (from Latin fūnambulus, "rope-dancer" and palmārum, "palm [tree]"), each get a rudimentary thumb. They have big, black eyes; small, triangular ears; brown-gray upper-sides; cream-bellied, brown-gray-white undersides; and black, brown, gray, white-haired bushy tails almost as long as head-body lengths. Physically and sexually mature nine-plus-month-olds invoke 5.91 to 7.87-inch (15 to 20-centimeter-) long, 3.53 to 4.23-ounce (100 to 120-gram) bodies in two to four-year life cycles.

Only their chip! chip! chip! alarm calls jeopardize Indian three-striped palm squirrels journeying quickly and quietly among, down, over and up the Ellora Caves.

Perhaps ancient religious associations kindle host and shelter preferences by Indian three-striped palm squirrels for Lord Krishna trees over axle wood, bidi leaf and black cutch.

Indian three-striped palm squirrels land on, lap around and leap down and up bottle gourd, fan palm, golden stone apple, Indian almond and Indian blackwood trees. They move masterfully among, down, over and up Indian frankincense, Indian gooseberry, Indian laburnum, Indian linden, Indian plum, Indian rosewood, Indian sandalwood and marking nut trees. The natural, overlapping Ellora Caves rain gardens, Ellora Caves sanctuary gardens and Ellora Caves teak forest nurture edible, squirrel-friendly bird eggs, insect larvae, nuts and shoots.

Landscaped grounds and pedestrian pathways around the Ellora Caves offer such photo opportunities as Indian three-striped palm squirrels obtaining edible berries, buds, fruits, mushrooms and seeds.

Eagles, hawks, people and snakes prey upon twenty-first-century Indian three-striped palm squirrels, whose Ellora Caves presence perhaps historically provoked golden jackals, panthers, tigers and wild boar.

The chipmunk, flying squirrel, ground squirrel, marmot, prairie dog, tree squirrel and woodchuck family member queues up throughout humid, thick forests, grasslands, jungles, shrublands and woodlands. They require closed-canopy or open-canopy tropical forests and woodlands through 6,561.68-foot (2,000-meter) altitudes above sea level from central India through southern India and onto Sri Lanka. Secure shelters, stable populations, sure climbing and swift movements suggest an International Union for Conservation of Nature status of least concern for Indian three-striped palm squirrels.

Area bats and Indian three-striped palm squirrels, whose southern ancestor Rama touched and turned from stripeless to striped, try turning Buddhist, Hindu, Jain Ellora Caves insect-free.

Landscaped grounds and surrounding forests and woodlands at Ellora Caves provide ideal environments for Indian three-striped palm squirrels (Funambulus palmarum); Ellora Caves, Maharashtra state, western peninsular India; Saturday, Sep. 5, 2009, 12:16:12: Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay (sankarshan), CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Indian three-striped palm squirrel (Funambulus palmarum) at Ellora Caves, Maharashtra state, western peninsular India; Saturday, June 9, 2012: Apurv Kiri, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/apurvkiri/7176784727/

Landscaped grounds and surrounding forests and woodlands at Ellora Caves provide ideal environments for Indian three-striped palm squirrels (Funambulus palmarum); Ellora Caves, Maharashtra state, western peninsular India; Saturday, Sep. 5, 2009, 12:16:12: Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay (sankarshan), CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/runa-sankarshan/3895545174/

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Anh-Huong, Nguyen; and Thich Nhat Hanh. 2019. Walking Meditation. Boulder CO: Sounds True.

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Berkson, Carmel. Ellora Concept and Style. First Edition, 1992. Second Edition, 2004. New Delhi, India: Abhinav Publications.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books/about/Ellora_Concept_and_Style.html?id=tH7KRNqIin4C

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Marriner, Derdriu. 27 March 2020. "Ellora Caves Accept Walking Meditations Advocated by Thich Nhat Hanh." Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 20 March 2020. "Ellora Caves Ally with Ajanta Caves and Thich Nhat Hanh in Indra's Net." Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 13 March 2020. "Ellora Caves Are Painted, Sculpted Temples Like and Unlike Ajanta Caves." Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 28 February 2020. "Schneider's Leaf-Nosed Bats Are Artful Annihilators at Ellora Caves." Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Schneider's Leaf-Nosed Bats Are Artful Annihilators at Ellora Caves

Summary: Schneider's leaf-nosed bats maybe avert insect pests less artfully around the architecturally, artistically astounding Ellora Caves of Maharashtra, India.

Schneider's leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros speoris); temple in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, southeastern India; Monday, July 16, 2012, 18:38: Seshadri.K.S, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Schneider's leaf-nosed bats anciently, artfully assisted greater Indian false vampire bats in assuring low levels of insect pests around the architecturally, artistically astounding, 100-plus-cavern, fifth to thirteenth-century Ellora Caves in Maharashtra, India.

Schneider's leaf-nosed bats, with low birth rates, historically never besiege Ellora Caves rain gardens, Ellora Caves sanctuary gardens and Ellora Caves teak forests with brimming colonies. Physically and sexually mature, 0.32 to 0.42-ounce (9 to 12-gram) parents care for their one-pup litters born 135 to 140 days after their yearly mating sessions. They display 1.18 to 1.34-inch (30 to 34-millimeter) wingspans and 1.77 to 2.44-inch (45 to 62-millimeter) body and 0.79 to 1.14-inch (20 to 29-millimeter) tail lengths.

Schneider's bats exhibit 0.49 to 0.75-inch (12.5 to 19-millimeter) ear, 1.79 to 2.13-inch (45.6 to 54-millimeter) forearm and 0.28 to 0.43-inch (7 to 11-millimeter) foot lengths.

Schneider's leaf-nosed bats feature large, triangle-shaped, wide ears concave just below rear-edge tips; nose-leaves with six side-running leaflets and with widely divided nostrils; and long tails.

Schneider's leaf-nosed bats, grouped commonly also as Schneider's round-leaf bats, get white-based brown-gray to orange fur lighter on upper-sides than on undersides and sometimes all-gray bodies. The Hipposideridae (from Greek ίππος, "horse," σίδηρος, "steel" and -ειδής, "-like") Old World leaf-nosed bat family member has the highest-pitched echolocation calls after horseshoe bats (Rhinolophidae). Schneider's leaf-nosed bats, identified scientifically by Johann Schneider (Jan. 18, 1750-Jan. 12, 1822), initiates insect-catching, low-flying, slow-moving, nightly hunts from communal roosts 10 minutes after sunset.

Maharashtra joins fellow states Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh and Sri Lanka as historic homelands for Schneider's leaf-nosed bats.

Alibag and Matheran, Raigad district; and Asgani, Ratnagir district, historically keep Schneider's leaf-nosed bats, known scientifically as Hipposideros speoris (from Greek ίππος, "horse" and σίδηρος, "steel").

Bhor, Chatushrungi cave, Mawal, Pune, Ranjangaon, Saswad, Shivneri Fort and Shirur, Pune district; and Borivali, Elephanta and Kanheri, Mumbai Suburban district historically lodge Schneider's leaf-nosed bats. Chanda, Chandrapur district; Ellora, Aurangabad district; Nanded, Nanded district; Saralgaon, Thane district; and Satara, Satara district just as historically mingle them with other native Maharashtra wildlife. Research surveys in 2004, 2008 and 2011 nestle them nowadays into habitat niches in Bhalavani, Sangli district; and Bhimanagar, Karmala, Kurduvadi, Pandharpur and Pothare, Solapur district.

Schneider's leaf-nosed bats likewise occurres in Indapur and Nira Narsingpur, Pune district during a seven-year study area in the Deccan (from Hindi दक्खिन, "south, southern") region.

The 23.63-inch (600-millimeter) annual precipitation and the 1,968.5-foot (600-meter), open, scrubby, semi-arid, thorn-forested altitude above sea level presently please Schneider's leaf-nosed bats in Osmanabad district caves.

Schneider's leaf-nosed bats queue up in subtropical and tropical dry forests and plains; on wooded slopes; and throughout old buildings, caves, forts, palaces, temples and tunnels. Their ranges through 4,543.96-foot (1,385-meter) altitudes above sea level require annual average temperatures around 79.16 degrees Fahrenheit (26.2 degrees Celsius) and annual average 4.44-inch (112.7-millimeter) rainfall. Sufficient, sustainable populations that show survivalistic tolerances of habitat changes suggest an International Union for Conservation of Nature status of least concern for Schneider's leaf-nosed bats.

Twenty-first-century technologists tend toward chemical and mechanical terminations despite similar aftereffects that turn them off to such natural annihilators as Schneider's leaf-nosed bats: residue versus droppings.

Ellora Caves, Maharashtra state, western peninsular India; Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016, 18:29: sudhakarsingh bondili, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Schneider's leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros speoris); temple in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, southeastern India; Monday, July 16, 2012, 18:38: Seshadri.K.S, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schneider's_Leaf-nosed_Bat_Hipposideros_speoris_DSC_9833_copy_filtered_copy.jpg

Ellora Caves, Maharashtra state, western peninsular India; Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016, 18:29: sudhakarsingh bondili, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FO2A7696-1.jpg

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Greater Indian False Vampire Bats Are Artful Assassins at Ellora Caves

Summary: Greater Indian false vampire bats perhaps appear less artfully around the architecturally, artistically amazing Ellora Caves in Maharashtra, India.

greater Indian false vampire bat (Megaderma lyra); Tuesday, July 3, 2012, 04:35: Aditya Joshi, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Greater Indian false vampire bats anciently acted as artful assassins of arachnid and insect pests around the architecturally, artistically attractive, 100-plus-cavern, 800 to 1,600-year-old Ellora Caves of Maharashtra state, western peninsular India.

Greater Indian false vampire bats belong among the historic, native wildlife in overlapping Ellora Caves rain gardens, Ellora Caves sanctuary gardens and Ellora Caves teak forests. Low birth rates control 2,000-member colonies whose mature males sometimes claim solitary roosts away from extended family networks of three to 30 parents, offspring and relatives. Five-month gestations from November through January matings deliver one or two 0.36-ounce (10.3-gram) pup litters, dependent 20 to 25 days and nursed another 15 to 20.

Physically and sexually mature 15-plus-month-old males and 19-plus-month-old females entertain 1.41 to 2.12-ounce (40 to 60-gram) weights for their tail-less bodies with broad, brown-gray, large wings.

Physical maturity features 2.56 to 3.74-inch (65 to 95-millimeter) body, 2.21 to 2.84-inch (56 to 72-millimeter) forearm and 0.55 to 0.79-inch (14 to 20-millimeter) foot lengths.

Greater Indian false vampire bats generate constant-frequency, multi-harmonic, short-lasting pulses at 106 kHZ through mouths, with triangle-grooved lower lips, in cylindrical muzzles with protruding lower jaws. They have oval, 1.22 to 1.77-inch (31 to 45-millimeter-) long ears, held together basally, and two-lobed ear-canal bumps; and 0.39-inch (10-millimeter-) long nose-leaves between big eyes. Greater Indian false vampire bats, identified scientifically by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (April 15, 1772-June 19, 1844), impart blue hints to brown-gray upper-side and gray-white under-side fur.

Greater Indian false vampire bats journey, through 1.64 to 6.56-foot (0.5 to 2-meter-) high flights, after prey and from civets, genets, mongooses, people, raptors and snakes.

The Megadermatidae (from Greek μέγας, "great," δέρμα, "skin" and -ειδής, "-like") false vampire bat family member kills fishes, frogs, insects, lizards, mice, rats, spiders and toads.

Greater Indian false vampire bats, labeled scientifically Megaderma lyra (from Greek μέγας, "great," δέρμα, "skin" and λύρα, "lyre"), leave one hour after sunset to locate prey. They maintain daytime and night-time roosts in attics, barns, caves, mines, pits, silos, temples, trees and tunnels in forests and shrublands and on cliffs and peaks. Greater Indian false vampire bats historically nestle into Maharashtra habitat niches in Ajanta and Ellora, Aurangabad district; and Bandra, Kanheri and Powai lake, Mumbai Suburban district.

Greater Indian false vampire bats historically occur in Maharashtra in Bhor Rajewadi and Satara, Satara district; Chinchpali, Chandrapur district; Ghodasgaon, Dhule district; and Gorthan, Nashik district.

Greater Indian false vampire bats historically populate Haveli, Junnar, Mulshi, Panshet and Pune, Pune district; Khed, Ramane Wadi and Ratnagiri, Ratnagiri district; and Mahad, Raigad district.

Research studies, 2004-2011, queue up Baramati, Daund and Indapur, Pune district; Bhalwani-Mangalvedha, Bhalwani-Pandharpur, Kurbavi-Malshiras, Piliv-Sangola and Pothare-Karmala, Solapur district; Osmanabad Caves, Osmanabad; and Supe, Ahmednagar district. They require annual average temperatures around 79.16 degrees Fahrenheit (26.2 degrees Celsius) and average monthly 4.44-inch (112.7-millimeter) rainfall up through 3,280.84-foot (1,000-meter) altitudes above sea level. Habitat-tolerant, sustainable populations inside and outside protected areas suggest a least-concern status by the International Union for Conservation of Nature for greater Indian false vampire bats.

Tourist traffic ironically tends to turn greater Indian false vampire bats away from their traditional tasks as natural terminators of invertebrates pests sometimes troubling Ellora Caves.

Ellora Caves in Aurangabad District, Maharashtra, western peninsular India; Monday, July 28, 2014, 14:38: Akshatha Inamdar, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

greater Indian false vampire bat (Megaderma lyra); July 3, 2012; Tuesday, July 3, 2012, 04:35: Aditya Joshi, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greater_False_Vampire_Bat_(Megaderma_lyra).jpg

Ellora Caves in Aurangabad District, Maharashtra, western peninsular India; Monday, July 28, 2014, 14:38: Akshatha Inamdar, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ellora_Caves-Maharashtra_t-146.jpg

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