Mini portrait: Red-breasted Parakeet
Dammerman's Red-breasted Parakeet (Psittacula alexandri dammermani).
The Red-breasted Parakeet (Psittacula alexandri) belongs to the genus Psittacula, under which both the African and Indian Ringneck Parakeet (Psittacula manillensis and krameri, today respectively Alexandrinus krameri and Alexandrinus manillensis spp.) and the Alexandrine Parakeet (Psittacula eupatria, today Palaeornis eupatria spp.) with associated subspecies also belonged to until a few years ago, when the entire Psittacula genus was broken up purely taxonomically and divided into several new genera.
However, it is the Red-breasted Parakeet that is believed to be the origin of one of the very first records of parrots in world history. Its scientific Latin species name "alexandri" indicates that it is named after one of the greatest figures in world history, namely the Macedonian Alexander the Great (356 - 323 BC), who became one of world history's greatest field lords and military strategists. During his long-term campaign to India, he brought home, among other things, "a green parrot with a red neck", and it is a common assumption that even if Alexander the Great did not quite reach what is today the Red-breasted Parakeet's natural range, it was a Red-breasted Parakeet, which thus became the subject of world history's first records of parrots in captivity.
Formally, this bird was first described by science in 1758, and today, in addition to the nominate form the Java Red-breasted Parakeet (Psittacula alexandri alexandri), science recognizes as many as 7 subspecies (according to "Howard & Moore's Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World", Vol. I, from spring 2013 as well as the latest version 4.1 (August 2018), "Errata and Corrigenda to Volume I", which, however, has subsequently been changed in connection with the above-mentioned taxonomic breakdown), characterized by different size, length and differences in colours and colouration.
The Red-breasted Parakeet is widespread over large parts of south-east Asia (including India) and north-west Oceania, where it typically lives in high forests. Here it leaves great damage in forest areas where it has been visiting, as it "puts its calling card" through the use of its strong beak.
The Red-breasted Parakeets are very beautiful and elegant birds with long narrow tails. They are both good fliers and good climbers. When it comes to keeping it in human care (read: captivity), one can mention on the negative side that the Red-breasted Parakeets gnaw a lot, and they can scream a lot, to which they are intolerable towards other bird species. They are at the same time robust, but sensitive to cold with a tendency to easily get frostbite in the toes and feet, which is why they must always have free access to a heated interior.
Dammerman's Red-breasted Parakeet (Psittacula alexandri dammermani).
Outside of the breeding season, you can observe the Red-breasted Parakeets’ more sociable side, as they move in flocks of many hundreds of individuals, where they also can do a lot of damage when they settle on field crops, which is why they are not popular among the local population's agriculturists. Until the birds are fully coloured as 2- to 3-year-olds, sexing can often be difficult. If you do not use DNA-based sex determination, you can use secondary sex characters instead to try to determine the sex, e.g. via differences in tail length. In addition, the reddish breast colour in female birds spreads up the side of the neck between the colours of the head and the back of the neck, just as the female's main colour can have a more bluish tinge.
In the wild, Red-breasted Parakeets migrate within their range and often follow the emergence of buds and leaves on the various types of trees. BirdLife International does not distinguish between the Red-breasted Parakeet's nominate form and its subspecies, but instead treats them as one, and this organization consider the Red-breasted Parakeet to be "Near Treatened" in its gigantic range, which is estimated to be approximately 9,400,000 km2. It is considered to be commonly found in the distribution area, and therefore BirdLife International has not estimated the population in the wild either. The Red-breasted Parakeet has been the subject of extensive international trade. Since 1981, when it was included on CITES Appendix II, 125,965 wild-caught specimens have been registered in international trade, cf. UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database per January 2005. As special information, it can be mentioned that the Red-breasted Parakeet has been introduced to Japan, where it lives freely in nature as an invasive species, and some records indicate that there may be up to approximately 10,000 breeding pairs (2005) in the Japanese nature.
The photos shown show the rare, but large, subspecies, Dammerman's Red-breasted Parakeet (Psittacula alexandri dammermani), which is approximately 38 cm long and can weigh up to approximately 170 grams. This subspecies only lives on the Karimundjawa Islands in Indonesia in moist deciduous forests, mangroves, teak and coconut plantations. In nature, this subspecies feeds on nectar and flowers as well as seeds, leaves and rice and - even - chestnuts. The female of this subspecies lays 3 - 4 eggs in tree holes. Not much is known about several of the other subspecies.
Jorgen Petersen
Conceived/Updated: 31.05.2012 / 10.01.2024
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