28 Parrot

The Ring-necked or Twenty-eight Parrot is in the Psittacidae family.

The Ring-necked or Twenty-eight Parrot is approx 35-44cm long in its body. In Western Australia this parrots head is black with the red markings on the head above the beak.

It is found in the South-west of Western Australia.

They are named Twenty-eight Parrot not because they have 28 colours but because one of their calls sounds like it is saying 'twenty-eight'.

I have found these birds to be active at night as well as during the mourning and afternoon.

This 28 Parrot was seen at the Jarradale campground in January.

What do they eat?

With their strong beaks they extract the seeds from native Eucalypt gum nuts/seed pods, often from the ground, suggesting they prefer to eat the mature seed pods but they also feed in the trees as well.

They also lick nectar from native plants and eat insects.
These parrots have a thick stubby tongue.

Go here to hear another wild parrot which I think is the Port Lincoln Parrot calling to this parrot in captivity. On release these two parrots flew off together.

There is another subspecies or species the Port Lincoln Parrot Platycercus zonarius zonarius which is also found in Perth and north to the Pilbara and south-east Kimberley and east into the wheatbelt. It is smaller than the Ring-necked or Twenty-eight Parrot and does not have the red markings on the forehead.

The two species can interbreed in Perth.

This parrot also came into my care and I am pretty sure it was the Port Lincoln Parrot. It was found in Leeming south of Perth.

This is the skull of the Ring-necked/Twenty-eight Parrot photographed at the Western Australian Museum.

Nesting

Approx 5 white eggs are laid in a eucalypt tree hollow.

The young fledge at approx 35 days.

This could be either the Twenty-eight or the Port Lincoln Parrot as it was photographed at Bold Park near the centre of Perth where either bird could be found. This was its nesting tree hollow.

They will have their first moult of feathers at around the age of 12 months.

In captivity I have observed that they like to hang upside down from the top of the aviary and will bite at the same place on the aviary roof every late afternoon through into the night in attempts to escape. When handled these birds screech loudly before you have touched them and they bite hard. They bite out of fear as they are not hunters but hunted.

Where to find these parrots

I have seen many parrots that could be Twenty-eights or the Port Lincoln Parrots on roadside verges eating seeds while driving all over the south-west and wheatbelt in Western Australia. They are seen frequently in Jarrah and Marri forests. The most common species are often overlooked and I have not kept detailed records on all these bird sightings.