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bird Question:

Two sparring Ringnecks

Hi these are my cheeky birds blu ( blue Indian ring neck ) and huge green African ringneck 12 months and 8 months ish old they share a double cage but are in separate halves out all time when I am in .... They have both been Acting strangle recently head bobbing eyes dilating and occasional beak sparring one flys away after few seconds I did believe they were males but am unsure ?? Can you help or advise ?? Thanks Kate

Answer:

Dear Kate Ashworth,

First off, let me start out by saying you have two very nice looking Ringnecks. They look so happy and healthy in this photo and you should be a proud parrot owner.

Also, you had indicated that you had one very large green African Ringneck; however, it is not an African Ringneck I see but rather an Indian Ringneck. They look very similar to their cousins and I know it can be confusing at times. A great way to differentiate between the two species is that African Ringnecks have plum colored beaks and are smaller compared to their cousins the Indian Ringnecks.

Now on to the beak sparring. This is a very common behavior in all parrots. I don't know if you've ever had the chance to see a flock of wild Ringnecks, but many in the flock will exhibit this behavior. Though I don't know the exact reason they do this, it could be many things such as territorial quarrels, fights for food, displaying for females, etc. I would not worry about it due to the fact your birds are starting to reach adulthood.

You've only known their baby personality, and just like humans, they're starting to make their transition to adulthood and make known their likes and dislikes. This behavior is healthy and it seems the birds are working it out in a healthy manner. This would be their typical cycle of development had they existed in a wild flock. As long as you're watching them, and the birds are separated while they're not being supervised, everything should be fine.

As for the sexing of your Indian Ringnecks there is a possibility you might have a female Ringneck. But from your description I would say the behavior you described you have two males. If a female is present, they're usually aggressive and only prefer the company of their owners. Speaking from experience, and many hundreds of other owners on our forums, females tend to enjoy more interaction from their human companions rather than other Ringnecks, especially if they're bonded to you.

Anyway, I hope this helped shed some light on the subject!

Best Wishes, IMRAN-C