Animalia Life

Psittacula krameri
SUBFAMILY
Psittacinae
TAXONOMY
Psittacus krameri Scopoli, 1769, Senegal. Four subspecies.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Ring-necked parakeet, Indian ringneck parakeet; French: Perruche а collier; German: Halsbandsittich; Spanish: Cotorra de Kramer.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
15.7 in (40 cm); 4.1–4.9 oz (116–139 g). Green plumage, red bill, narrow red-and-black necklace, slender tail.
DISTRIBUTION
P. k. krameri: south Mauritania east to western Uganda and southern Sudan. P. k. parvirostris: eastern Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia to northwest Somalia. P. k. borealis: northwest Pak- istan and north India east to central Myanmar and southeast China. P. k. manillensis: Sri Lanka and peninsular India. Feral populations originating from escaped cagebirds established elsewhere.
HABITAT
Lowlands and foothills. Deciduous woodland, secondary growth, and wide variety of open, lightly timbered habitats, including dry scrublands, semidesert savanna, and cultivated farmlands or plantations in and around urban centers; avoids interior of dense, evergreen forest, but present at margins; natural and feral populations have successfully colonized manmade habitats.
BEHAVIOR
Sedentary, but local movements influenced by rainfall. Usually in small groups but very large flocks at concentrated food sources and at nocturnal roosts; noisy, fearless, and highly conspicuous because of constant screeching and squabbling; swift, direct flight, with backward-swept wings and long, pointed tail giving distinctive appearance.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Diet includes seeds, berries, fruits, blossoms, and nectar; fond of cultivated fruits and grain, raiding both standing crops and stockpiles at stores or railway sidings.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Monogamous. In West Africa breeding is from December to April, and is from November to June in India and Sri Lanka. Preceding copulation, elaborate display from male features side-to-side swaying of upward stretching body, repeated raising of one foot, and arching of neck while dilating eye pupils, all to the accompaniment of low, twittering notes. Nest in tree hollow, often in old holes of woodpeckers, or in cavities in walls and under eaves of buildings; clutch of three to four eggs incubated by female for 22 days; young birds leave nest at approximately 30 days.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Uncommon at extremities of range, but elsewhere plentiful and increasing; benefits from agriculture.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Very destructive in croplands and orchards; popular cagebird, with many color mutations established.

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