Australian ringneck

Australian ringneck

Description

The Australian ringneck is a medium-sized, slender parrot with a long, tapered tail, growing to roughly 33-44 cm and weighing around 100-170 g. Its most distinctive feature is a yellow band, or collar, across the nape, which gives the species its name. The body is mainly green with bluish tones on the cheeks and wings; in the nominate form, the Port Lincoln parrot, the head is black and the belly yellow. Males and females look similar, though females tend to be a little duller.

Habitat

Endemic to Australia, it occupies large parts of the western, central and southern regions of the continent. It favours dry and semi-arid eucalypt woodlands, low mallee scrub, thickets and open farmland, as well as roadside trees, parks and gardens.

Diet

It feeds mainly on plant matter — seeds of grasses and trees, fruits, buds, flowers and nectar — and will also take insects and their larvae. It forages both in the tree canopy and on the ground.

Reproduction

It nests in tree hollows, usually in eucalypts. The female lays around four to six white eggs and incubates them for about 19-21 days. The young leave the nest after roughly five weeks and are fed by the parents for some time afterwards.

Lifespan

Approximately 15-25 years in human care, usually shorter in the wild.

Did you know?

One form of the species is nicknamed the "twenty-eight" parrot, because its call sounds like someone saying that number in English.