Australian Ringneck

The Australian Ringneck is a medium-sized parrot notable for its striking geographic variation in color, ranging from deep green and blue in some populations to bright yellow-green in others. Despite this variation, all forms share the diagnostic feature that gives the species its name: a narrow yellow band across the back of the neck.

Regional forms are often known by separate common names, including the Port Lincoln Parrot (dark head, yellow belly), the Twenty-eight Parrot (green body, named for its distinctive call), the Mallee Ringneck (blue-green with a yellow belly), and the Cloncurry Parrot (paler, more uniform coloring), all now considered subspecies of a single species.

Key field marks

• Narrow yellow band across the hindneck, present in all forms
• Body color varies regionally from dark green/black-headed to blue-green or yellow-green
• Stocky build with a fairly short, broad tail compared to Polytelis parrots
• Pale blue cheek patches present in some subspecies

Similar species

• Regent Parrot: slimmer body, much longer tail, lacks the yellow nape band.
• Mulga Parrot and other Psephotus species: smaller, with different color patterns and no yellow neck ring.
• Distinguishing between Australian Ringneck subspecies relies mainly on head color and overall body tone, which vary clinally across the continent.

Habitat

Australian Ringnecks occupy a wide range of dry habitats including mallee scrub, mulga woodland, eucalypt woodland, farmland with remnant trees, and arid zone watercourses.

Range

The species is widespread across inland and western Australia, from Western Australia through South Australia and into western New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland, though absent from the wetter east coast and Tasmania.

Migration

Generally sedentary, though some populations show local nomadic movement tied to water and food availability in arid regions.

Behavior

Usually seen in pairs or small flocks, Australian Ringnecks forage quietly on the ground or in trees and shrubs, often perching conspicuously on dead branches or fence lines.

Voice

The most familiar call, especially of the Twenty-eight Parrot form, is a distinctive "twenty-eight" whistle from which that form gets its name; other calls include harsher chattering notes.

Feeding

Diet includes seeds of native grasses, eucalypts, and acacias, fruits, blossoms, nectar, and some insects, foraged both on the ground and in vegetation.

Nesting and breeding

Nests are built in tree hollows, often in dead trees or living eucalypts near water. Clutches typically number four to six white eggs, incubated by the female, with chicks fledging around five weeks after hatching.