Also known as: Indian Ringneck Parakeet (IRN), Ringneck Parakeet, Rose-ringed Parrot
The Rose-ringed Parakeet is a gregarious tropical parakeet species. They don't migrate and is one of few parrot species that have successfully adapted to living in 'disturbed habitats', and in that way withstood the onslaught of urbanisation and deforestation. In the wild, this is a noisy species with an unmistakable squawking call.
Four subspecies are recognized, though they do not differ much:
- African Rose-ringed Parakeet (West Africa in Guinea, Senegal and southern Mauretania, east to Western Uganda and Southern Sudan);
- Abyssinian Rose-ringed Parakeet (Northwest Somalia, west across northern Ethiopia to Sennar district, Sudan);
- Indian Rose-ringed Parakeet (Originated from the southern Indian subcontinent; introduced populations worldwide);
- Neumann's Rose-ringed Parakeet (east Pakistan, northern India and Nepal to central Burma; introduced populations worldwide in localities)
The Rose-ringed Parakeet has established feral populations in India, a number of European cities, South Africa and Japan. There are also stable populations in the USA in Florida and California, and a small but self-sustaining population Tehran, Iran, mostly concentrated in the northern parts of city.
Conservation
The Rose-ringed Parakeet is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and was last assessed in 2012 by BirdLife International. This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.