Ring-necked parakeet (psittacula krameri)
These very loud, bright green birds have been visiting the garden for several years now. You usually hear them before you see them, and it sounds like you could be in a lovely hot tropical country. They are normally found in Africa and southern Asia.
According to research published by scientists in 2019, they started breeding in the wild in the UK in the 1950s from pet birds that were released or escaped. Worldwide, ring-necked parakeets have now spread across 34 countries on 5 continents. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) thinks there are currently about 8,600 breeding pairs in Britain alone.
In the wild they eat fruits, nuts, berries and seeds but they have adapted to their habitat and in towns they’ll also eat kitchen scraps and meat.
They like to nest in hollow trees and have been seen in flocks of up to 50 near here.
