Sunday Fun Bird Facts
This post is sponsored by SAASA and Birds of Eden
https://www.birdsofeden.co.za/
Fun Facts about Ringnecks
Ringneck parakeets – fun facts
1 - The ringneck parakeet is also known by the alternative name of rose-ringed parakeet.
2 - Only the male sports the distinctive black neck ring with rose-pink collar.
3 - The ringneck is the most widely distributed of all the parrots, as it is found naturally on two continents: Africa and Asia. In Africa they occur across a broad area south of the Sahara, stretching from Senegambia in the west to Somalia in the east. In Asia they can be found from western Pakistan to Burma.
4 - Today these parrots have established themselves widely throughout Europe, occurring in many large towns and cities from Lisbon to London. Wild feral populations can also be found in South Africa, Mauritius, Singapore, Macao and Hong Kong. No one knows for certain how they became established in Britain. One of the more fanciful stories is that birds were released from Isleworth Studios, Middlesex, after the filming of The African Queen in 1951. What is most likely is that these birds became established following either accidental or deliberate escapes from captivity.
5 - The preferred nesting site is a hole in a tree, though they have been known to nest in buildings and even rock cavities.
6 – Ringneck parakeets can get very old, reaching an age of up to 30 years!
7 - Both male and female parakeets have the incredible ability to mimic human speech and home noises. They listen to their surroundings and then mimic what they hear. They can learn a lot of words (a vocabulary of up to 250 words), which is sadly one of the factors that make them popular pets. Wild animals should never be kept as pets – it is cruel to keep a bird in a cage as a pet.
8 - They have the cutest courtship ritual! During breeding season, the females may been observed to roll their eyes as they twitter and move their heads in circular motions while flapping their wings. At the same time, the male shows off by strutting his stuff. Then their beaks touch and the male feeds the female while standing on one leg. Bizarre but sweet behaviour
9 – In the wild most parrots live in tropical rain forests, and the ongoing destruction of their natural habitat is heart-breaking. Land is continuously being cleared for cattle ranching, exotic tree plantations, settlements, and agriculture. As rain forest is turned into farmland, parrots can turn into crop pests, by eating or indiscriminately destroying plants. Farmers respond by culling bird populations, which can take a serious toll on bird numbers. The relatively low reproductive rate of most parrot species exacerbates their conservation status.
10 - The illegal wildlife trade is the third largest black market industry in the world: The wildlife trade is a massive global industry in which live animals are captured from their native habitats and sold as pets or for research, or animals are killed and their parts sold for medicines, food, clothing, or accessories. Interpol values the worldwide wildlife black market at more than (US) $10 billion annually, making it the third largest illegal trade in the world after guns and drug trafficking. The illegal parrot trade, which occurs largely in the neotropics, is a part of horrid wildlife crime. Don’t be part of the problem – don’t ever keep wild animals as pets. They are NOT pets.
Come back next week for more exciting fun facts from SAASA and Birds of Eden here on Lets Go Big Tunes blog page