This beautiful blue Ring-necked (Rose-ringed) Parakeet is feral - an escapee or release from captivity now living wild.
The blue colour is from selective breeding in aviculture.
His nape band is white rather than pink.
He is relatively tame - happy to pose for photographs at a safe distance.
His tail is well over half his total length.
Males have longer tails than females; older birds have longer tails than young birds.
Black lower beak with slight red at base
Truly wild Ringnecks rarely walk on the ground but this recent release from captivity seems happy to walk.
His tail trailing like a peacock
An unlikely friend
Perhaps its the red bill that fascinates
See below for what happened here . . .
Six months later he had found a girlfriend - see how much shorter her tail is (his being partly chopped from the photo)
- not only because she's female but also because she's very young
- since, like most parrots, they pair for life, it would be difficult to find an unpaired female of his age anyway.
They have been provided with food/water bowls, regularly replenished (the Collared Doves eat much of the food), and with a parakeet nesting box
(maybe she doesn't like the wallpaper).
She likes picking jacaranda blossom
and stealing fruit and veg from the swans.