Indian Ringneck Parakeet

Looks how to spot one

Feathered; slender medium parakeet with a very long, tapering tail

A sleek, mostly grass-green parakeet with a strong hooked red beak and a long, pointed tail tinged with blue, which can make up more than half of its total length. Adult males wear a narrow black stripe under the chin that joins a pink and black collar around the neck, the ring that gives the bird its name. Females and young birds have no ring, or only a faint pale one. In the Indian subspecies the upper beak is bright red, sometimes dark at the tip, and the lower beak is black.143

Personality what they are like

Ringnecks are confident, clever and chatty birds that know what they want and are not shy about saying so. They stay tame and affectionate when they get regular, daily time with their people, and are happiest in a home that treats them as part of the family routine. Both males and females can learn to speak, and their words tend to come out unusually clearly. They are also naturally loud, with a lively chatter and some sharp calls through the day, so they suit owners who enjoy an energetic, vocal companion.31

Daily activity how busy a day looks

High. Plan for generous supervised time out of the cage every day, plenty of toys to climb, chew and solve, and regular play and training sessions to keep its busy mind occupied.3

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Offer a shallow bath or light misting so it can keep its feathers in good order, and give chew toys and perches of different textures to help keep the beak and nails worn. The long tail needs room so it does not rub against cage bars. If teaching speech, start with words before whistles, since some birds settle on whistling once they learn it.3

Home where they are happiest

A roomy cage, larger than its body size might suggest, so the long tail can move freely and the bird can climb and flap. Add several perches, rotating toys and a safe area for daily out-of-cage exercise.3

Food basics what goes in the bowl

In the wild it eats mostly seeds and grain (around four fifths of its diet) plus buds, fruit, berries, nuts, nectar and the odd insect. In the home a balanced base of pellets, topped up with fresh vegetables, fruit and suitable healthy table foods, covers its needs.413

Company who they like around

A very social species that roosts in large groups in the wild. As a pet it needs daily interaction and attention from its people to stay tame and content.23

The story where it all began

The rose-ringed parakeet is one of the parrots with the longest history alongside people. The ancient Greeks kept the Indian subspecies, and ringnecks are commonly said to have reached Greece around 327 BC after Alexander the Great's campaign in India, together with their larger relative the Alexandrine parakeet. The Romans later kept the African subspecies. The species was formally described by Scopoli in 1769 and named in honour of the German naturalist Wilhelm Heinrich Kramer. In modern aviculture breeders have developed a wide range of colour mutations, from blue and turquoise to yellow, white, grey and violet, which has made the Indian ringneck one of the best known medium-sized pet parrots. Birds released or escaped from captivity have also founded thriving free-living populations in many cities of Europe and beyond.153

Recognised by the official bits

IUCN Red List

The rose-ringed parakeet species is listed as Least Concern, with a population trend described as increasing.2

Taxonomy

The species was described by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1769. Four subspecies are recognised: krameri (African), parvirostris (Abyssinian), borealis (Boreal) and manillensis (Indian). Recent genetic work has led some organisations to move it to the genus Alexandrinus and to discuss splitting the African and Asian forms, but this is not settled.1