South-western Queensland, western New South Wales, north-western Victoria, South Australia, southern Northern Territory, and Western Australia. There is an isolated population (macgillivrayi) in north-western Queensland.
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Food
Seeds of grasses and other plants, flower-buds of eucalypts.
Voice
A ringing double-noted, 'klinit, klingit, klingit' and a rapid, sharp, ringing, 'kling-kling-kling' (zonarious). A triple-noted, 'teu-wit, teoo' or 'twen-ty, eight' (semitorquatus). A high, ringing, 'kling-kling-kling' uttered in flight (barnardi).
Australian Ringneck (Barnardius zonarius) [XC287324]
by Marc Anderson from Bowra Station, near Cunnamulla, Queensland, Australia (flight call)
Australian Ringneck (Barnardius zonarius) [XC328346]
by Andrew Spencer from Binya State Forest--Wattle Dam, New South Wales, Australia (call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
July - February through central and southern Australia, February - June in north-western Queensland, coinciding with seeding after wet seasons.
Nest
In a hollow of a tree.
Eggs (Guide)
2 - 6, usually 4 - 5; white; rounded; about 27 - 33 x 22 - 26 mm. Incubation: 19 - 20 days; by female.
Young
Fledge in about 35 days.
Subspecies
There are two subspecies groups, that have at times been considered separate species:
Mallee Group (barnardi and macgillivrayi) of eastern arid Australia and
Port Lincoln Group (zonarious, semitorquatus) of central and western arid Australia.
The following 5 subspecies are recognised:
zonarius (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) - Coastal central WA, from northern SwanCoastal Plain to the northern edges of the Pilbara, through inland Australia to Lake Eyre Basin, head of Spencer Gulf, SA and edges of Barkly Tableland and Simpson Deseret. Feral populations can also be found in eastern Melbourne, Vic.
macgillivrayi (North, 1900) - Eastern northern Territory and north-western Queensland. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Mallee Ringneck (Barnardius barnardi).
barnardi (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) - Murray - darling Basin and Bulloo River Basin to the western edges of the Great Divide, south to southern limits of the Murray - Mallee in Vic., and SA, and west to eastern edges of the Flinders Ranges. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Mallee Ringneck (Barnardius barnardi).
semitorquatus (Quoy & Gaimard, 1832) - South-western Australia, north to about Swan Coastal Plain and east to about King George Sound.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
BirdLife International Species Factsheet