ALEXANDRINE PARAKEET

Description

The Alexandrine Parakeet belongs in the Psittacula genus, which are known as Ringneck Parakeets. This genus has the distinguishing characteristic of a colored collar going around the head in the males, or a pronounced stripe running through the chin area.The Alexandrine Parakeets have a large head and bill, a sleek body and a long tapered tail. The male has a general green plumage with some grayish-blue on the cheeks and a dark purple-red patch on the wing. There is a faint black stripe from the cere to the eye, a black stripe across the lower cheek, and a wide rose-pink collar. The inner tail feathers are bluish-green with light yellow-white tips and a yellow underside. The beak is a deep red with a paler tip. Their average lifespan is 40 years.The female is lighter than the male. Females don’t have the rose-pink collar or the black stripe across the cheek patches, and they have shorter central tail feathers. These birds grow to a length of 23″.

SOCIAL BEHAVIORS:

In the wild, these birds live in small flocks during the day, and roost in very large flocks at night.   Parakeets are very energetic birds! Besides flying, which is important for all parakeets, these birds love to chew! Be sure you provide them with lots of assorted toys and wood chews, perches and swings.
The basic cage care includes daily cleaning of the water and food dishes. Weekly you should wash all the perches and dirty toys, and the floor should be washed about every other week. A total hosing down and disinfecting of an aviary should be done yearly, replacing anything that needs to be freshened, such as old dishes, toys and perches.
A a roomy cage is required as these are large parakeets.