Mini portrait: Barred Parakeet

Make no mistake, however, as this species - although its body appears relatively large compared to other parrot species - can certainly fly well, even quickly, despite its short and tapered tail. I experienced this myself recently when I had to enter a larger aviary with a flock of Barred Parakeets with young birds that had left the nest boxes a short time before. When I entered the aviary (which - by conscious choice - is not built with an entrance gate) I did not take care. One of the young birds came flying directly towards me and passed over my right shoulder, after which, at a low height above the lawn, it accelerated further in a very direct flight further into the garden of an old man.

In the wild, Barred Parakeets are often seen staying in trees in dense forest areas, where it is perfectly camouflaged due to the green colour of its plumage. However, the Barred Parakeet is also found on tree-poor savannahs and in smaller forests in the subtropical zone of Central America. In the summer months, the Barred Parakeets look up in the forest areas of the mountains at heights of up to approximately 2,300 m, and they prefer to stay at altitudes of over 1,500 meters. In winter, the Barred Parakeets retreat to lower-lying areas, often at 500 - 600 m altitude, and thus display a form of nomadic behaviour. They are usually seen in small flocks of less than 20 individuals or in pairs. Just outside the breeding season, you can see groups of hundreds of small parakeets that occupy "sleeping trees" until nightfall. When the Barred Parakeet flies over open spaces, it happens quickly at a high altitude, where you can hear the birds emit high, slightly shrill screams, something you rarely hear in human care. When the birds then have calmed down in the tall trees, just a light chirping is heard, which is the only thing that reveals their presence.

From its vast range of an estimated 6,810,000 km2 in southern and southeastern Mexico (which does not include the Yucatan Peninsula) down through Central America to northern South America including Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela, Birdlife International estimates that the natural population may amount to to approximately ½ million mature individuals. It seems to be one of the relatively few parrot species where the natural population is quite stable, which must be said to be extremely positive. Its status in nature is therefore "Least concern".

In human care (read: captivity), the Barred Parakeet is not particularly shy, but when it feels unsafe, it wants to "squeeze" or "freeze" in a certain sitting position. If it takes an interest in something new or is startled, it spreads its short tail out like a kind of fan, which slowly gathers again when it thinks the danger is over. When the tail is spread, you can clearly see that its tail feathers are almost spear-shaped.

The Barred Parakeet likes to climb, which is done very nimbly even in small and dense branches. Therefore, it is very advantageous to arrange the aviary with many rather dense natural branches.

Sometimes one can get the impression that one's Barred Parakeets are sick or in less good condition, as they often sit with inflated plumage, but here too this species differs from most other parrots, as an inflated plumage in Barred Parakeets is just a completely common phenomenon.

Although the Barred Parakeet has become more robust after being kept under sheltered conditions in Europe for a number of years, it must not be kept outdoors in the winter months without access to a heated indoor space. You should not experiment with what your birds can tolerate, but as an aviculturist you should always offer the birds the conditions that serve them best in the long term.

Barred Parakeet, or Northern Barred Parakeet (Bolborhynchus lineola lineola), wild colored.

Photo from the internet.

At pet stores or with aviculturists who keep many Barred Parakeets together in a too small space, you sometimes see that the birds - who already have a tendency to want to sit close together - that under such conditions they can find themselves biting each other in the flight feathers, whereby the birds temporarily lose the ability to fly.

It is my experience that Barred Parakeets prefer to breed in a large horizontal budgerigar nest box. It is not difficult to breed, and usually 4 - 5 white eggs are laid, which are incubated for approximately 3 weeks. One of the things that has surprised me a lot when you breed with Barred Parakeets is that they make the nest box excessively dirty. Even if the birds apparently try to use a certain corner of the nest box as toilet, there may be a tendency for the nest box to become "wet". It is my experience that Barred Parakeets, which breed, have a significantly greater consumption of drinking water on a daily basis, which may be part of the explanation for the experience of the nest box. At the same time, Barred Parakeets are very fond of fruit, and you can of course reduce the problem by giving them almost no fruit, but this is certainly not optimal for the birds nor their chicks when they are growing up. Therefore, it is advantageous to line the nest box beforehand with a thick layer of bark chips, which can reduce the problem. I myself sometimes replace the nest box during the breeding process with a completely identical nest box, which the birds accept without any problems. This can also reduce another problem since these birds surprisingly not - like most other parrot species - are not able to keep themselves clean around the feet. The Barred Parakeets themselves can manage to line the nest box with feathers and down, although not to an extent that it can be seen on the birds' plumage. It may also bring some small twigs and leaves to the nest box.

Barred Parakeets are, as already mentioned, very fond of fruit, not least sweet apples and pears, but also figs, berries and vegetables. The basic food is a good parakeet seed mixture that can also be given in soaked and/or sprouted form (but be very careful to rinse the seed thoroughly in clean water). Biscuits and light shortbread are also possible supplementary feed.

A large number of colour mutations have occurred in the Barred Parakeet over recent years, and if you want to work with colour mutations, the Barred Parakeet is an obvious species to start with, as you do not - as is known from certain Lovebird species (genus Agapornis) - have to struggle with problems around hybrid colour mutations. Through targeted breeding, aviculturists have over time created a number of new colour mutations, including combination mutations, e.g. by pairing the dark factor over the turquoise birds, whereby, among other things, created Cobalt Blue (D Blue) and Mauve (Grey, or rather DD Blue) colour mutations. A number of these different colour mutations are shown below:

Barred Parakeets (Bolborhynchus lineola lineola), different kind of colour mutations.

It can be difficult to separate the sexes from each other, and many aviculturists have also over the years mistaken the sex of a bird, which has resulted in unfertilized eggs repeatedly. Today, a DNA test can quickly clarify the gender of the individual birds, so you can be sure that the pair you put together can produce fertilized eggs and thus chicks.

There are, however, a number of secondary gender characters that can be relied upon with considerable certainty when sexing mature Barred Parakeets without having to resort to DNA sexing. These are partly about minor phenotypic differences, partly about behavioral differences. The most reliable difference can be ascertained by examining the two middle tail feathers (steering feathers) on the bird. In male birds, the area with black plumage makes up more than half of the feather, while in females the black colour is usually not found, or only to a limited extent. But you can also observe a difference in the rest of the plumage, as the female's overall colouring is weaker and more diffuse, which you can especially see on the back and under the tail and on the wings, especially in the form of the black shoulder "patch" and on the primaries. Of course, this difference only applies to birds that have shed their juvenile plumage, as young males have a weaker colour pattern that can be confused with that of the adult females. Therefore, also for this reason, it is important to ring your birds with fixed annual rings. The above-mentioned tip can also be used against the colour mutations that have colour pattern in the plumage, but not in relation to the colour mutations that lack colour pattern (melamine) such as e.g. the INO mutation (see the photos above).

Purely behaviorally, there are also differences between males and females, which can be observed in a flock of sexually mature birds. Here you can experience that the males are more contentious and "troublemakers", whereas the females get along much easier among each other. However, it is not the case that the males seriously bite each other's legs or feet, as is known from a number of other parrot species with flock behaviour. In males and females that sympathize, you can often see them sitting close together, but in opposite directions (the male's head is next to the female's tail and vice versa). At the same time, you can also observe that the male feeds the female, just as he is the one who most often makes a sound. However, if you have had a pair of birds of the same sex living together for a long time, you will be able to experience that one of the parties can adopt the behavior of the opposite sex to ensure a harmonious coexistence.

Finally, it can be mentioned that you also can use the "pelvic bone test" to determine the sex of adult Barred Parakeets, which is mostly known from the sex determination of Lovebirds (genus Agapornis), where you can gently feel with a finger that the space between the female's pelvic bones is larger and at the same time are more flexible. You will never be in doubt when you have a female in your hand that has already bred.

It must be emphasized that the above secondary sex characters are only indicative guidelines, and if you are in the slightest doubt, you should invest in having the sex of the bird determined by DNA.

Jorgen Petersen

Conceived/Updated: 31.05.2012 / 11.01.2024 

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Barred Parakeet, or Northern Barred Parakeet (Bolborhynchus lineola lineola), wild colored.

Photo from the internet.