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The
Indian Ring-necked Parakeet (Psittacula krameri manillensis), most
commonly referred to today as just Indian Ringneck or Ringneck, is
sometimes referred to as the Rose-ringed Parakeet, no doubt due to
the rose ring of the mature male Ring-necked Parakeet, or Noble
Parakeet. These birds may be found in the wild across northern
Africa, in Asia from western Pakistan through India to Burma and in
parts of Europe. They have been around a long time, in ancient Rome
and in India, where they were considered sacred because of their
ability to mimic the human voice.
While
royalty embraced these beautiful birds for centuries, they were kept
by commoners as well. The original Ringneck was the beautiful
“parrot green” with his rose and white ring set off by his black
bib or what we call his “tuxedo.” The colorful mutations began
to show up in the 1920’s. First came the Lutino and then the Blue.
Although the blue mutation was one of the first developed, and
although we have many, many new and amazing mutations, we, at The
Beak, still find the blue to be the most popular pet color. 
And
from these three colors, somehow it seems we have continued to create
new mutations. From the handsome Grey and soft Silver, the fallow
and cinnamon mutations of the solid colors, the beautiful Turquoise
and, of course, the Violet and Cobalt mutations – as if it were
possible to make the Blue more beautiful, it has now been done. Then
the Pieds and the Lacewings, each of these in multiple colors. Next
comes the clear heads and the clear tails, also in the multiples of
color.
Obviously
the Indian Ringneck is the breeders’ dream bird, always creating a
sense of intrigue and anticipation.
This
same concept became the Ringneck’s plight as well. Breeder after
breeder produced more and more Ringnecks until the pyramid became
very broad at the bottom and you needed to move with the newest color
to stay in the game.
What
we didn’t see, however, was this wonderful parrot in homes as
companion birds. We have over the years run across several folks
that had had a Ringneck many years ago, but even today the average
person doesn’t know what an Indian Ringneck is. Compared to
the Macaws, Amazons and Cockatoos, the Ringneck is, indeed, a
newcomer.
Seeing
this wonderful, intelligent parrot make its way into the companion
world of birds became the goal of The Beak when we began raising the
Ringnecks eleven years ago.
Please
enjoy our site and the mutation pictures and most of all, contact us
to ask questions or learn more about the Indian Ringneck.
Visit
us often!
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