ParrotsAustralian Ringnecks Bluebonnet Bourke’s Parrot Budgerigar Cockatiel Galah Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo Mallee Ringneck Mulga Parrot Port Lincoln Ringneck Purple-crowned Lorikeet Rainbow Lorikeet Red-collared Lorikeet Red-tailed Black Cockatoo Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
The Mallee Ringneck (Barnardius barnardi), also referred to as the Australian Ringneck (Mallee) (Barnardius zonarius barnardi), is a colourful bird with a long tapered broad tail, belonging to the Australian Ringneck group of birds. They are also referred to as the Mallee Parrot or just the Mallee.
The feathers of the Mallee Ringneck are a lovely palette of tones and patterns, mostly light pastel emerald green with splashes of yellow. The back and the wings are a variable indigo blue-black, with the lower part of the wings a mixture of emerald green and turquoise. The body is emerald green with abdominal band that varies in width from yellow to orange. The lower half of the head is light green, with a pale splash of yellow and blue to the back of the head. There is a prominent red band that stretches between the eyes, just above the beak.
The female are slightly shorter and similar but more muted in colour.
The Mallee Ringneck are usually seen in pairs, although when there is a plentiful food source can be found in small flocks of up to 10 birds. They eat grass seeds (including the seeds of the Spiny Burrgrass), the fruit of the White Cedar and the young shoots of trees and bushes, such as bottlebrush and cottonwood.
The Mallee Ringneck can be found in the Central Australia, arid eastern Northern Territory, north-western Queensland, Victoria, Murray River region, and inland through eastern Australia. Their habitats include woodlands, arid shrubland, and have been sighted in urban parks and garden areas. They are sometimes considered a pest in agricultural zones.
There are many subspecies of the Mallee Ringneck.
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Aves
- Order: Psittaciformes
- Family: Psittaculidae
- Genus: Barnardius
- Species: B. zonarius
- Binomial name: Barnardius zonarius
- Subspecies:
- B. z. zonarius
- B. z. semitorquatus
- B. z. barnardi
- B. z. macgillivrayi
- Synonyms:
- Barnardius barnardi
ParrotsAustralian Ringnecks Bluebonnet Bourke’s Parrot Budgerigar Cockatiel Galah Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo Mallee Ringneck Mulga Parrot Port Lincoln Ringneck Purple-crowned Lorikeet Rainbow Lorikeet Red-collared Lorikeet Red-tailed Black Cockatoo Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo