Page "Alexandrine Parakeet" Paragraph 13

The species is dimorphic in adulthood ( 3 years and older ).

The immatures are monomorphic and are similar but duller in appearance to that of the adult females.

Adult males always show pitch-black neck rings and large pink bands on their napes ( commonly called nape bands ).

Often males only display a narrow band of blueish-grey above their bold pink nape-band.

Adult females frequently show neck ring shadows that are anywhere between light and dark shades of grey.

Females never display true black feathers in their neck-rings.

Immatures of either genders are very similar to adult females but, as with all genuine parakeet species, the young Alexandrine Parakeets always display shorter middle-tail feathers and thus shorter tails than adults.

The adult feathering usually is acquired between 18 – 30 months of age, but may sometimes show up as young as 12 and / or as old as a full 36 months of age.

Consequently, it may be difficult to identify the sex of Alexandrine Parakeets by sight with absolute certainty until they are a full 36 months of age.