May 2021 AOTM: Indian Ringneck Parakeet

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Greetings, VMA! This is Kayla and today I shall be giving you some information about the Animal of the Month for May 2021; the Indian Ringneck Parakeet.

English Name:

Indian Ring-Necked Parakeet

Latin Name:

Psittacula krameri manillensis

They are an Asian bird, descended from the rose-ringed parakeet. Originally they are from Ceylon but today they can be found in most parts of India and Pakistan, but also in other parts of Asia. They are very used to having company as they travel in flocks of a hundred (or more) birds!

Indian ringnecks tend to be quite talkative parrots, and do best with an owner that is outgoing! With that being said, you will get to know their personalities almost instantly— and most of them behave just as a toddler would. They usually start talking at around the age of nine/ten months. At this time they start with a few words, and then they start to speak longer sentences. They have quite the undeserved reputation for being nippy and hard to handle— they are so sweet and caring with the right owner. If a ringneck is too hard to handle, perhaps it is not the right pet for that particular person. Overall they have a very aloof personality.

Normally ringnecks are green, blue/violet, white (albino/lacewing) or yellow (lutino). Originally though, green ringnecks were the only ones in existence. Then hybrids and mutations started becoming more common.

Like all birds, or like all animals in general they may become bored. This is why they need an attentive owner who can spot their needs and adjust their regimes as needed— a good example is switching out their toys every so often. They are definitely not good pets for people who hate noise— some even start talking or screaming at 6 am!

Did you know?

Ringnecks may be referred to as both parrots and parakeets. They have shorter tail feathers and are medium in size (like parakeets) but saying they are parrots is also an accurate statement.

A Ringneck’s sex may be easily distinguished when they are two-three years of age. Because of this they are known as dimorphic. This is because they will have a bold ring around their necks if they are males. However, before this age they may only be sexed by DNA testing most of the time. Some may start to slowly develop their ring at around one year of age, but every bird is different even if they are the same breed.

Ringnecks are very intelligent, and as I have said before an owner who challenges them is best for them. If scolded though, they may develop a lifelong fear of people. You do really have to be careful with this as they may be traumatised for life. If they are bored for extended periods of time they turn to destructive behaviours— especially self destructive ones like obsessive feather plucking.

While they are not the easiest pet, they are so sweet if they are well cared for and should definitely be given a chance despite their disadvantages or difficulties (not everyone is perfect, anyway)!

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Thank you for reading; please let me know what you think about ringnecks as pets in general!

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Images from Google

Info from Lafeber, Spruce Pets; and also my own knowledge