I am curious to know wither ringneck beak color is age related or diet related. My birds have dark beaks. A few months ago I got a young pair that came with pale orange beaks from an auction. They had most likely had an inferior diet of mostly seeds. Within a month they both had darkish red/maroon beaks that the other birds have. My birds enjoy a fresh/cooked varied diet. Someone asked if my birds were older due to the beak color. Now I am second guessing myself wither this is a good or bad thing. Males and females alike have dark beaks. Does anyone know?

Back when I had ringneck breeding pairs I found that young birds do have dark beaks which become maroon colored as they get older. How old are your birds? Can we please see a picture? Thanks!

Pictures are difficult as they are wild and I have no camera. I can't do pics with the webcam. What age does the beak change? All the lower beaks are black. I thought the birds were 8-9 months old when I got them but possibly they were 6 months. The young male is now getting a white ring under his beak. My older birds I can't remember them ever having too much lighter beaks, but they been here a few years.

Well the lower mandible being black is normal, I believe even the adults retain that, it's been a long time since i've had ringnecks but I do know the bottom beak was almost all black. The top beak though should only be very slightly edged in black if there is any black at all, and should be a nice vibrant red color.

Angie.... Are you talking about IRNs or ARNs? I have no experience with the latter except that I do know their beaks are darker vs. the bright reddish color of the IRN males... I used to have & breed many IRNs - the standard colors and I don't ever recall seeing orange-ish beaks, pale or otherwise. Did ya try googling info.

These could be ARN, but the beaks look to pale to me. With my birds the beaks are a lot darker and only the sharp tip is black. It can be it is just the way photo come out. I am mostly just curious.
World Parrot Trust - Parrot Encyclopedia - Profile information for Ringneck Parakeet - Psittacula - krameri

Here are pics of my ARN...




Hope they help

Thanks, the beak looks about the same color an my IRN.

Actually in IRNs the beak color can be directly related to what subspecies they are. Some subspecies will have a much darker beak color than another. As far as age - I don't know. I have never really paid that much attention. I would think that a good diet could make a difference in the color just as it would in the sheen and shape of their feathers.

As you can see in this picture - they both have different colors on their beaks and both are birds that are over 2 years old. The green one is actually older than the grey one. A lot of young babies will have quite a bit of black on their beaks which fades in time. It just seems to depend on the bird.

Thanks subspecies and maybe color mutation can make sense.