Life is all about living happily – days may, months may, years may fleet past ! – it is always a day after the other ! Nothing special !! A couple of years back World was under Covid gloom – people were anxious and depressed and lived in fear. At that time many took up to growing plants and bird watching.
Ceres is a dwarf planet in the middle main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It was the first known asteroid, was later classified a dwarf planet, the only one not beyond Neptune's orbit. A dwarf planet is a small planetary-mass object that is in direct orbit around the Sun, massive enough to be gravitationally rounded, but insufficient to achieve orbital dominance like the eight classical planets of the Solar System. Ceres' diameter is about a quarter that of the Moon. Its small size means that even at its brightest it is too dim to be seen by the naked eye, except under extremely dark skies.
There are birds – Crows, Pigeons, Owls, Mynahs and .. .. then there is Parrot ! in most human minds, it is one of beauty, intellect, vivacious, green coloured and highly social !! in nature. Parrots are seen as symbols of happiness !!
In fact, birds and happiness are so closely linked that, according to the study, the more diversity of bird species surrounding a person, the happier they are. Researchers found that birds are so powerful as mood boosters that their effect is equal to an increase in income. In fact, birds and happiness are often linked in nature research. One study after another points to what we seem to know intuitively: appreciating birds makes us feel lighter, calmer, and more hopeful. A new study reveals that greater bird biodiversity brings greater joy to people, according to recent findings from the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research.
Elsewhere our neighbouring Pakistan is in danger of losing one of its famed birds, the Alexandrine parrot, which is already on a global list of near-endangered species due to multiple factors, most of them human-made. Wildlife experts cite habitat alteration, pollution, poaching and illegal trade as major factors behind the decline in the bird’s population, which is still the largest among the three parrot species found in the South Asian country. Once abundant in the country's plains, mainly along canals and foothills, and even in mega cities like Karachi, its population is currently restricted to the upper parts of northeastern Punjab and southern Sindh provinces and the border areas of Pakistan and India, including Jammu and Kashmir. The tree-filled foothills of scenic Murree Hill Station is another home to Alexandrine parrots.
"Apart from the systematic destruction of their habitat, they have become a source of income for a sizable number of people across the country, resulting in increasing poaching and subsequently illegal trade," said, an Islamabad-based wildlife expert. He observed that a huge number of Indian rosewood (Shisham or Tali) and Banyan (Ficus benghalensis) trees, the parrots' favorite nesting places, have been systematically cut down in the agriculture belt of Punjab and Sindh over the past three decades because of their precious wood. Agriculture authorities, he added, have replaced Indian rosewood with eucalyptus, which is useless for parrots and other human friendly birds. Eucalyptus in Pakistan was exported from Australia to feed the country's matchstick industry, and according to some environmentalists, it is environmentally hazardous. It is stated that in Karachi alone, the parrots’ numbers have plummeted by 60% over the past five to eight years.
Ceres, the dwarf planet, was the first known asteroid, discovered on 1 January 1801 by Giuseppe Piazzi at Palermo Astronomical Observatory in Sicily, and announced as a new planet. Ceres was later classified as an asteroid and then a dwarf planet, the only one not beyond Neptune's orbit.
Start the day with these beautiful, quarelling Parrots
Regards – S Sampathkumar
1st Jan 2025.
