Ring-necked parakeets in The Netherlands
Jeroen Punt
Several parrot species live wild in the Netherlands. Some species more successful than others. The Ring-necked parakeet (Psittacula krameri) is the most successful wild parrot in the Netherlands. It is a medium sized green bird with a long tail and a red beak. In flight you can see their pointy wingtips. They are noisy and have a gregarious life style.
Fact sheet
In the breeding season they live near parks, estates, orchards and gardens with older trees that provide the cavities they need roost. Outside these periods the birds are more widespread. In their native territories in India they live in the jungles and close to farms and gardens.
Primarily in the big conglomerates of the west (Randstad). Main populations are in The Hague, Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
Fruit, leaves, seeds, nuts, buts and berries.
A very vocal “kie-ak kie-ak�? in flight or when they are alarmed.
Description
The Ring-necked parakeet is one of the most exotic and conspicuous birds in the Netherlands. It is a tropical species and lives here because of human intervention. It is native to the tropics from Western Africa to the South of the Himalayas in India. In these areas it is a very common bird. It is an attractive, bright green bird with an exceptional long tail. The species is named after the pink/black ring around the neck of the male. Both sexes have a distinctive red beak. In contrary to other bird species the beak is adapted to forage on fruits. The upper beak is bent down for a firm grip. They are very social animals that live in large groups and are extremely vocal, especially on their roosts. During the breeding season they are more quite. In this stage the birds live in breeding or in small groups. When the young fledge they will form bigger groups. In winter all birds will join the common roosts. The largest roost is located in Voorburg. At times there are more than 3.000 birds gathering for the night. Some birds will fly more than 20 km (15 miles) to sleep there.
Food
Ring-necked parakeets are vegetarians. They eat a wide variety fruits, berries, nuts, seeds and grain. They will visit feeding tables on a regular basis. It has been suggested that the birds will not live through the Dutch winters without the human handouts from gardens and for this reason they will remain city birds. They mainly forage in the early morning and late afternoon. The afternoon is spend on other activities like preening.
Breeding
Ring-necked parakeets are secondary cavity breeders. They usually take abandoned Woodpecker nests. They start early in the year, in February, but some birds don’t lay eggs before late June. This early start is to their advantage; other birds start later but the parakeets have by then secured their nests. This leads to less competition for cavities. Their primarily competitors are Woodpeckers, Starlings and Jackdaws. The female will produce 2 to 4 eggs and incubate for 3 weeks. The chicks are looked after by both parents and fledge after 40 to 50 days. The birds usually start breeding at an age of 3 years.
History in the Netherlands
For centuries the Ring-necked parakeet has been present in the Netherlands. It has always been a pet bird in a cage. From the dark ages there are Dutch paintings depicting Ring-necked parakeets. The bird regularly appears on paintings from the 16th and 17th century. The exotic birds were destined for the upper-class and the well to do people. This kept the number of animals on average a low. The working-class people kept native birds like Goldfinches (Carduelis carduelis), finches (Fringilla coelebs), Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris) and Thrushes (Turdidae) etc.
In the 20’s more stringent rules and regulations for keeping native birds were imposed. Breeding and trade with exotic birds became more popular. Ring-necked parakeets were regularly sold as pets in the 60’s and 70’s. Because of their vocal abilities they were often ‘liberated’ by their owner. Some of these birds managed to survive the winter and started populations in several cities. In 1968 the first breeding pair was reported at the “Ockenburgh�? estate in The Hague, followed by “De Tempel�? estate in Rotterdam in 1973 and Amsterdam in 1976. Nowadays they are ubiquitous in several cities. In some cases they have become a symbol for the multicultural human society in which they live.