This Day in History (1993): Wild parakeets add color, commotion

From the Dec. 15, 1993, edition of The Arabian Sun

Flocks of parakeets are adding an exotic touch to the lush greenery on Ibis Street, just below the Dhahran Library. The tropical rose-ringed parakeets, visitors from India, feed on apples and sunflower seeds in the early morning and before sunset.

They roost in the dense foliage of the large trees that stretch back to the dining hall, but they congregate at the garden of Al (Max) and Shirley Gore for breakfast and supper.

If someone walks by, a cloud of 20 or more will erupt noisily into the air from the bird feeder. They wait impatiently on the telephone wires.

Their daily snacks of sunflower seeds and apples are served up courtesy of Max Gore, who carries on the tradition from the previous occupant.

When Gore moved to Tenth Street three years ago, his golfing companions told him that the previous occupant, with "boundless enthusiasm and endless ideas," fed the parakeets and had built a large pond and waterfall in the garden.

Caption for top photo: Drawn by a bounty of ripe apples, the long-tailed parakeets make quick work of a daily supply of treats. Passers-by enjoy the sight.

Also on this day

2017 — A large earthquake strikes the city of Tasikmalaya on the island of Java, resulting in four deaths

2001 — The Leaning Tower of Pisa, after 11 years and $27 million spent to stabilize it, reopens without fixing its "lean"

1993 — The Downing Street Declaration is issued by British Prime Minister John Major and Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, affirming the right of the people of Ireland to self-determination and that Northern Ireland would be transferred to the Republic of Ireland from the UK only if a majority of its population was in favor of the move

1978 — U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces the U.S. will recognize the People's Republic of China and sever diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan)

1973 — John Paul Getty III, grandson of American billionaire J. Paul Getty, is found alive in Italy after being kidnapped by a gang there earlier in the year

1970 — Venera 7, a Soviet spacecraft, successfully lands on Venus

1961 — Adolf Eichmann is sentenced to death after being found guilty by an Israeli court on 15 counts including crimes against humanity and the Jewish People, and being a member of an outlawed organization

1939 — Gone with the Wind premieres at Loew's Grand Theater in Atlanta, Georgia

1903 — Italian American food-cart vendor Italo Marchiony receives a U.S. patent for a machine that makes ice cream cones

1890 — Lakota chief Sitting Bull is killed by Indian agency police on the Standing rock Indian Reservation during an attempt to arrest him in connection with the Ghost Dance movement

1869 — The Republic of Ezo, Japan's first attempt at democracy, is proclaimed, but is short-lived

1791 — The U.S. Bill of Rights becomes law

1025 — Constantine VIII becomes sole emperor of the Byzantine Empire, 63 years after being crowned co-emperor

37 — Roman emperor Nero is born at Antium