Animal-World
Information
Bookmark and Share
Special Features
Exotic Pet
Bird Libraries
Pet Bird
Information
Connect with us on Facebook
Watch us on YouTube
Follow us on Twitter

Pet Supply Comparison Shopping

Parakeet: Types of Parakeets Articles

Alexandrine Parakeets

Family: PsittacidaeLarry is a male Alexandrine Parakeet Larry is a male Alexandrine ParrotPsittacula eupatriaPhoto Courtesy Kristy
Latest Reader Comment - See More
Tony Have you found Larry yet, and what other things does he say or do?  evonne

     The Alexandrine Parakeet, like most of the ringnecks, is a very striking bird.

     The two Alexandrine Parakeets pictures on this page show the differences in feather coloration characteristic to the ringnecks. Once they have finished their second full molt, the male will have the colored ring going around his head which immature males and females will not have.

To learn more about Parakeets and their needs visit:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Parakeet


Geographic Distribution
Psittacula eupatria
Data provided by GBIF.org
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Class: Aves
  • Order: Psittaciformes
  • Family: Psittacidae

Scientific name: Psittacula eupatria

Distribution:      The Alexandrine Parakeet is found in Ceylon, eastern Afghanistan, western Pakistan, through India to Indochina, and the Andaman Islands. They live in lowlands and wooded areas such as forests, jungle, and coastal mangroves.

Description:      The Alexandrine Parakeet belongs in the Psittacula genus, that 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" (58 cm).

Joey is a female Alexandrine ParakeetJoey is a female Alexandrine Parrot Photo courtesy: Kristy

Care and Feeding:      Fresh food and water must be provided daily.
     In the wild, Alexandrine Parakeets eat a variety of seeds, fruits, nuts, blossoms, leaf buds. In addition to these foods, you can offer them vegetables and commercial pellets. They like nuts with the shells cracked, such as walnuts, pecans and almonds. They also enjoy the same nutritional foods humans eat, including cooked chicken. Cooked beans, rice, and grains are also enjoyed, but soft foods like these will spoil in about 4 hours.
See About Parakeets: Care and Feeding for more detailed information.

Housing:      A a roomy cage is required as these are large parakeets.
See About Parakeets: Housing for more extensive housing information.

Maintenance:      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.

Pet Supply Comparison Shopping

Social Behaviors:      In the wild, these birds live in small flocks during the day, and roost in very large flocks at night.

Handling/Training: See About Parakeets: Handling and Training for detailed information.
    

Activities:      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.


Breeding/Reproduction:
     Unlike many parakeets, the Alexandrine Parakeets do not bond with a mate for life. Each pair will need two nesting boxes to choose from with wood shavings as a bedding. Once the nest box is selected the female will lay two to four eggs. Both parents will sit on the eggs. The young leave the nest about six weeks after hatching. The males don't reach their adult plumage until the second year.
See About Parakeets: Breeding and Reproduction for more information.

Potential Problems:      These parakeets have a loud call.
See About Parakeets: Potential Problems for more information.

Availability:      Alexandrine Parakeets are available from time to time, usually from breeders.

Author: Clarice Brough, CAS


Comments
View All 56 comments!
View all 6 questions
Latest Comments

Tony
Have you found Larry yet, and what other things does he say or do?
Reply
evonne
2010-01-25

Hi, we just lost our Alexandrine, 3 Jan 2010.
Flew away after I foolishly took him out of the cage outside. We are in Corrimal near Wollongong. He/she only has a limited vocabulary at this point but regular phrases are: "My names Jerry", "What's your name", "What are you doing".
We would love to get him back and should anybody find him could you please leave a message on here and we will find out a way to establish contact. A reward is offered.
Thanks, Tony.

EDITOR'S Note: We will be happy to help with this Tony. People, you can post email addresses in the forum, and any other personal information. We will watch for incoming comments in regards to your bird as well, and forward them to you.
Reply
Tony Lewis
2010-01-04

We have 3 Alexandrines at the moment, 2 females and a male in the same 3 metre by 3 metre aviary. We also had 2 young, about 6 months in another cage, but they both died very suddenly within a week of each other. We keep the aviary very clean by brushing and hosing the concrete floor every other day to minimize any problems.
One of the females is rather aggressive towards the male so we may put her in another cage and see if the male and remaining female will mate.
The male is named Poh Jah which means Father in Thai. He is very tame and loves to kiss and be stroked. They love to eat the very hot Thai chillies and leaves of certain trees in our garden. They have 2 large nest boxes mounted high in the aviary and they have been using them now for about 6 months. We have a fishpond and waterfall in the aviary to give our birds some extra water supply if needed. As soon as I go into the aviary, at least 1 bird will fly to my head or shoulder and proceed to nibble at my ear or neck chain.
1 bird has flown away twice but has come back both times.
Reply
steve
2009-10-25

We live in Brisbane and we bought our Alexandrine (Honey Girl) when she was 3 months old from a pet shop. I am the main carer. I am home all day with her, I feed her and clean her cage. She is out of the cage when we are home. I am so dissappointed as she seems to hate me. She attacks me everytime I put food in her cage. If she is on top of her cage and I go near her she skittles back into her cage. Yet she loves my husband. He is away all day and when he comes home she gets all excited. She runs to him when he goes near the cage. Jumps on his shoulder and nibbles affectionately at his ears and hair, chatters to him... grrrrr. I bought her for me!
Reply
Helen
2009-10-22
Click For Replies (2)

We also bought our Alexandrine at about 3 months old and he seems to have moods with both me and my partner where he will favour one of us more. Generally though I am home with him all day but he seems to prefer being with Kyle and often nibbles at his ears and chatters in his ear. Like you I clean and look after him, give him food all day. Once he even tried to attack me for cuddling up to my partner on the couch whilst he was sitting on his shoulder! Jealous!
A lady we spoke to told us that they tend to choose one person whom they consider their 'partner for life'. So unfortunately this might be the case. Not much we can do about it!... Jayde Kilby

Don't worry just give he sun flower seeds by your hand every she will become normal.... sriprasanna
Some of the bestest comments - here's the beef!

I have 12 Alexandrines, 8 of which are trained to do tricks, all started by my first boy Kasuku, he made it very clear he knew what I was saying. So for fun I started to train him and his buddies. This blossomed into the troup of eight clowns who love to show off and entertain folks. This we do every weekend.
If you have an Alexandrine as a companion count yourself as one of the lucky people, I see lots of folks saying their Alex is agressive when in the cage, this is very normal. It is his very own piece of real estate and it belongs to only him. As long as he is sweet when out let him have that space. Hey, hey GREEN POWER to all the Alex lovers!
Reply
Dail Malins
2005-02-19

I removed my three Alexandrines from their nest at two weeks. The three have totally different personalities. All treated the same with am and pm, one on one, as well as group attention. They love their baths and they demand I blow dry them afterwards (this was a daily occurance while I was hand feeding to keep their soft feathers from becoming so dry and mucky). The oldest one is the least friendly, very vicious inside the cage and mellow outside. The middle one, the smartest of all, picks up words constantly at 8 months old and the other two follow its lead. Middle one is very friendly and loves to kiss. Baby is simply a heart stealer. Baby is the clown of the group, extremely passive inside and outside of the cage. Loves to kiss and ride ATVs. Baby will stop playing and run over for a smooch then continue with playing. If a trainer takes a little time with these precious little bodies, marvelous beings can arise.
Reply
CherokeeCandy
2005-01-01
       Add your comment!
Questions - Answers

Hi PPl,
Just a question i have had my female alex for about 9 months now when I got her the pet shop told me she was 6 months old....So when I got her I done research on how to care, feed etc.....I gave her time to settle in she was in a cage with a male alex from the same petshop as they were both together in the same cage felt sorry for taking her mate so I bought her mate as well.....
about 2 months ago he flew away...and I have purchased another male.......
But my real question is when she is in her cage she bites at me and carrys on I understand it is territorial thing but when she is out she does not walk round much she tries to hide everywhere even when she on my shoulder she will just sit there and not move or she will try and hide in my hair...I get her out regularly and repeat everything but she still seems not to do anything at all she hardly makes a noise so I am just wondering if they are normally shy birds as I thought I would give her a few months to settle in and stuff but still have no luck at her moving around when she is out.......Also when she is out she is fine to pat and pick up etc it just she don't move and it is frustrating me so if someone has any ideas on what I can do or if that is just going to be her personality a boring one at that.....


Reply
Trina
2010-06-13

Hello, i was wondering how to tell if my Alexandrine Parrot is pregnant?
She has been eating out her log (nesting box) and she is making her own shavings at the bottom of it... is she pregnant? How can i tell?
Reply
Amie
2010-06-12
Click For Replies (1)

Usually, parakeets will build nests when they are ready to breed. She won't get 'pregnant' but will lay eggs and sit on them. You'll know if she lays eggs, its pretty exciting!... Editor's Note

Hi I just got my first alexandrine parrot. I have had him for 2 weeks now. His name is two. And I love this bird to death. He talks and does all kinds of things. But not as friendly as I would like. You can feed from the hand but he still tries to bite from time to time. But only when he is on his cage. Once off the cage you can pack him all over and he don't try to bite but once back on the cage he will bite. I don't get it?
Reply
karen
2010-04-28
Click For Replies (1)

The short answer is that birds can be territorial and their cage is their territory. They see it as their 'safe place' and sometimes feel they need to defend it.... Editor's Note
Comments Dr Jungle REALLY Likes to Hear!

i am a doctor & interested in having a medium sized parrot as a pet. animal-world.com is an excellent site for a beginner. i do recommend it.
Reply
Muhammad Osman
2006-06-18

I thinks its a very Informative website, So I Giving best Wish to hole staff
of this website and i said to these people make it more more Informative. its a very Good website about the birds and if i can help you i really Glad to do your help in searching the information about these birds. Keep it up. Thanks.
Reply
Zulfiqar
2004-11-08

Click to see more Parakeet: Types of Parakeets
Back to Parakeet: Types of Parakeets



Advertisement
10 steps to help your PARROT stop BITING!
click for more info on each step...



Copyright © [Animal-World] 1998-2009. All rights reserved.

Using cached version