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WORKING
PROJECT TITLE
Invasive rose-ringed parakeets Psittacula krameri
in KwaZulu-Natal
CORE TEAM
MEMBER
Prof Colleen T. Downs
ACADEMIC LEVEL
OF THE PROJECT
MSc
PROJECT
BACKGROUND
Globally, the rose-ringed parakeet Psittacula krameri is
the most invasive parrot species and became established
in South Africa in the 1970’s. They appear to be
expanding their distribution in KwaZulu-Natal,
particularly in the greater Durban Metropolitan area (Hart
& Downs 2014). Rose-ringed parakeets are generalists,
occurring in a range of habitats and feeding on a variety
of food items, including: fleshy-fruit, dry seeds, and
insect larvae ((Juniper & Parr 1998, Perrin & Cowgill
2005). They are secondary cavity nesters, using nests
excavated by other bird species or natural cavities
(Weissenbacher & Allan 1985), but have also been
recorded to nest in rock crevices, buildings cavities, and
nest boxes (Juniper & Parr 1998). In the United Kingdom,
they were previously considered urban but are now found
in rural areas (Butler 2003), which is both ecologically
(Strubbe & Matthysen 2009) and agriculturally concerning
as they are recognized agricultural pests in their native
range (De Grazio 1978). Consequently the aim of this
study is to determine various aspects of rose-ringed
parakeets ecology, including movements, in the Durban
Metropolitan area of eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN),
South Africa, and to determine their Invasive impact.
FURTHER READING
Butler, C.J. 2003. Population Biology of the Introduced
Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri in the UK.
PhD thesis, University of Oxford, Oxford.
Juniper, T. & Parr, M. 1998. Parrots: A Guide to the
Parrots of the World. Pica Press, Sussex.
Perrin, M.R. & Cowgill, R. 2005. Rose-ringed Parakeet
Psittacula krameri In: Roberts Birds of Southern
www.sun.ac.za/cib
Africa, 7th ed. (Hockey, P.A.R., Dean, W.R.J. &
Ryan, P.G., eds). The Trustees of the John
Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town. pp. 229-230.
Strubbe, D. & Matthysen, E. 2007. Invasive ring-necked
parakeets Psittacula krameri in Belgium: habitat
selection and impact on native birds. Ecography
30: 578-588.
Strubbe, D. & Matthysen, E. 2009. Experimental evidence
for nest-site competition between invasive ringnecked parakeets (Psittacula krameri) and native
nuthatches (Sitta europaea). Biological
Conservation 142: 1588-1594.
Strubbe, D. & Matthysen, E. 2011. A radiotelemetry study
of habitat use by the exotic ring-necked parakeet
Psittacula krameri in Belgium. Ibis 153: 180-184.
Weissenbacher, B.K.H. & Allan, D. 1985. Rose-ringed
parakeet breeding attempts in the Transvaal.
Ostrich 56: 169-169.
KEY CONTACTS
Prof CT Downs Centre for Invasion Biology, University of
KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg campus.
CONTACT DETAILS
OF CORE TEAM
MEMBER
c: 082 9202026 e: [email protected]
www.sun.ac.za/cib

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