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The Australian ringneck (''Barnardius zonarius'') is a
parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoid ...
native to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Except for extreme
tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
and highland areas, the species has adapted to all conditions. Treatments of genus ''Barnardius'' have previously recognised two species, the
Port Lincoln parrot The Australian ringneck (''Barnardius zonarius'') is a parrot native to Australia. Except for extreme tropical and highland areas, the species has adapted to all conditions. Treatments of genus ''Barnardius'' have previously recognised two sp ...
(''Barnardius zonarius'') and the
mallee ringneck The Australian ringneck (''Barnardius zonarius'') is a parrot native to Australia. Except for extreme tropical and highland areas, the species has adapted to all conditions. Treatments of genus ''Barnardius'' have previously recognised two sp ...
(''Barnardius barnardi''), but due to these readily interbreeding at the contact zone they are usually regarded as a single species ''B. zonarius'' with subspecific descriptions. Currently, four
subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
are recognised, each with a distinct
range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...
. In
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, the ringneck competes for nesting space with the
rainbow lorikeet The rainbow lorikeet (''Trichoglossus moluccanus'') is a species of parrot found in Australia. It is common along the eastern seaboard, from northern Queensland to South Australia. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. Six ...
, an
introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...
. To protect the ringneck, culls of the lorikeet are sanctioned by authorities in this region. Overall, though, the ringneck is not a threatened species.


Description

The subspecies of the Australian ringneck differ considerably in colouration. It is a medium size species around 33 cm (11 in) long. The basic colour is green, and all four subspecies have the characteristic yellow ring around the hindneck; wings and tail are a mixture of green and blue. The ''B. z. zonarius'' and ''B. z. semitorquatus'' subspecies have a dull black head; back, rump and wings are brilliant green; throat and breast bluish-green. The difference between these two subspecies is that ''B. z. zonarius'' has a yellow abdomen while ''B. z. semitorquatus'' has a green abdomen; the latter has also a prominent crimson frontal band that the former lacks (the intermediate shown in the box has characteristics of both subspecies). The two other subspecies differ from these subspecies by the bright green crown and nape and blush cheek-patches. The underparts of ''B. z. barnardi'' are turquoise-green with an irregular orange-yellow band across the abdomen; the back and mantle are deep blackish-blue and this subspecies has a prominent red frontal band. The ''B. z. macgillivrayi'' is generally pale green, with no red frontal band, and a wide uniform pale yellow band across the abdomen.''Field Guide to the Birds of Australia - A book of identification'' Simpson and Day, (1993) pp.144 The calls of the Mallee ringneck and Cloncurry parrot have been described as "ringing", and the calls of the Port Lincoln ringneck and Twenty-eight parrot have been described as "strident". The name of the Twenty-eight is an
onomatopoeic Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as ''oink'', ''m ...
derived from its distinctive call, which sounds like "twenty-eight" (or the French equivalent, '"''vingt-huit''", according to one early description).


Taxonomy and naming

The Australian ringneck was first described by English naturalist
George Shaw George Shaw may refer to: * George Shaw (biologist) (1751–1813), English botanist and zoologist * George B. Shaw (1854–1894), U.S. Representative from Wisconsin * George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), Irish playwright * George C. Shaw (1866–196 ...
and drawn by
Frederick Polydore Nodder Frederick Polydore Nodder ( fl. 1770 – 1801) was an English illustrator, engraver and painter. Nodder illustrated George Shaw's periodical ''The Naturalist's Miscellany''. He also helped Joseph Banks prepare the '' Banks' Florilegium'' and c ...
in the 1805 in their work ''The Naturalist's Miscellany: Or, Coloured Figures of Natural Objects; Drawn and Described Immediately From Nature''. He called it ''Psittacus zonarius'' "zoned parrot". A
broad-tailed parrot A broad-tailed parrot is any of about 35–40 species belonging to the tribe Platycercini. The members of the tribe are small to medium in size, and all are native to Australasia, Australia in particular, but also New Zealand, New Caledonia, and ...
, it is most closely related to the rosellas of the genus '' Platycercus'', and has been placed in that genus by some authorities, including
Ferdinand Bauer Ferdinand Lucas Bauer (20 January 1760 – 17 March 1826) was an Austrian botanical illustrator who travelled on Matthew Flinders' expedition to Australia. Biography Early life and career Bauer was born in Feldsberg in 1760, the youngest son of ...
. Pre-existing names for the species, derived from the
Nyungar language Noongar (; also Nyungar ) is an Australian Aboriginal language or dialect continuum, spoken by some members of the Noongar community and others. It is taught actively in Australia, including at schools, universities and through public broadcastin ...
of
Southwest Australia Southwest Australia is a biogeographic region in Western Australia. It includes the Mediterranean-climate area of southwestern Australia, which is home to a diverse and distinctive flora and fauna. The region is also known as the Southwest Aus ...
, are ''dowarn'' ronounced dow’awnand ''doomolok'' orm’awe’lawk these were identified from over one hundred records of regional and orthographic variants to supplement the names already suggested by John Gilbert,
Dominic Serventy Dominic Louis Serventy (28 March 1904 – 8 August 1988) was a Perth -based Western Australian ornithology, ornithologist. He was president of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) 1947–1949. He assisted with the initial organisa ...
and others. Currently, four subspecies of ringneck are recognised, all of which have been described as distinct species in the past: (As of 1993, the Twenty-eight and Cloncurry parrot were treated as subspecies of the Port Lincoln parrot and the mallee ringneck, respectively.) Several other subspecies have been described, but are considered synonyms with one of the above subspecies. ''B. z. occidentalis'' has been synonymised with ''B. z. zonarius''. Intermediates exist between all subspecies except for between ''B. z. zonarius'' and ''B. z. macgillivrayi''. Intermediates have been associated with land clearing for agriculture in southern Western Australia. The classification of this species is still debated, and molecular research by Joseph and Wilke in 2006 found that the complex split genetically into two clades—one roughly correlating with ''B. z. barnardi'' and the other with the other three forms; ''B. z. macgillivrayi'' was more closely related to ''B. z. zonarius'' than to the neighbouring ''B. z. barnardi''. The researchers felt it was premature to reorganise the classification of the complex until more study was undertaken.


Subspecies


Behaviour

The Australian ringneck is active during the day and can be found in
eucalypt Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia: ''Eucalyptus'', '' Corymbia'', '' Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...
woodlands and eucalypt-lined watercourses. The species is gregarious and depending on the conditions can be resident or nomadic. In trials of growing hybrid eucalypt trees in dry environments parrots, especially the Port Lincoln parrot, caused severe damage to the crowns of the younger trees during the research period between 2000–3.


Feeding

This species eats a wide range of foods that include nectar, insects, seeds, fruit, and native and introduced bulbs. It will eat orchard-grown fruit and is sometimes seen as a pest by farmers.


Breeding

Breeding season for the northern populations starts in June or July, while the central and southern populations breed from August to February, but this can be delayed when climatic conditions are unfavourable. The nesting site is a hollow in a tree trunk. Generally four or five white oval eggs are laid measuring 29 mm x 23 mm, although a clutch may be as few as three and as many as six. Fledgling survival rates have been measured at 75%.


Conservation

Although the species is endemic, the species is considered not threatened, but in Western Australia, the Twenty-eight subspecies (''B. z. semitorquatus'') gets locally displaced by the introduced
rainbow lorikeet The rainbow lorikeet (''Trichoglossus moluccanus'') is a species of parrot found in Australia. It is common along the eastern seaboard, from northern Queensland to South Australia. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. Six ...
s that aggressively compete for nesting places. The rainbow lorikeet is considered a pest species in Western Australia and is subject to eradication in the wild. In Western Australia, a licence is required to keep or dispose of more than four Port Lincoln ringnecks. All four subspecies are sold in the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
and in Australia, and they are traded via the
CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...
convention. The sale of the Cloncurry parrot is restricted in Queensland. The Australian ringneck can suffer from
psittacine beak and feather disease Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) is a viral disease affecting all Old World and New World parrots. The causative virus—''beak and feather disease virus'' (BFDV)—belongs to the taxonomic genus ''Circovirus'', family ''Circoviridae ...
, which causes a high nestling mortality rate in captivity.


References


Cited text

*


Further reading

* ''
The Atlas of Australian Birds The Atlas of Australian Birds is a major ongoing database project initiated and managed by BirdLife Australia (formerly the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union) to map the distribution of Australia's bird species. BirdLife Australia is a no ...
'', Blakers, Davies & Reilly, (1984) * ''Photographic Field Guide to Birds of Australia'', Jim Flegg, (2002) *
John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, ...
's '' The Birds of Australia'' : ** Full text available from
National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
in an electronic format a
http://nla.gov.au/nla.aus-f4773
** B. z. semitorquatu
plate
{{Taxonbar, from=Q913626 Broad-tailed parrots
Australian ringneck The Australian ringneck (''Barnardius zonarius'') is a parrot native to Australia. Except for extreme tropical and highland areas, the species has adapted to all conditions. Treatments of genus ''Barnardius'' have previously recognised two sp ...
Endemic birds of Australia
Australian ringneck The Australian ringneck (''Barnardius zonarius'') is a parrot native to Australia. Except for extreme tropical and highland areas, the species has adapted to all conditions. Treatments of genus ''Barnardius'' have previously recognised two sp ...
Taxa named by George Shaw