parakeets, most of which can breed by the time they are two years old. As in their relatives, the neck and head patterns of the echo parakeet are displayed during courtship and are therefore sexually selected, with variation and intensity of the colours probably signifying fitness. The pink collars are raised (and made more conspicuous) during displays of dominance, while the iris is dilated and contracted. The breeding season usually begins in August or September, and nest-election occurs early during the season. The birds nest in natural cavities, often in large, old native trees, such as Calophyllum, Canarium, Mimusops, and Sideroxylon, at least above the ground, and not exposed to the south east, which is affected by trade winds. The cavities are usually in horizontal branches (rather than vertical trunks), are at least deep, wide, and their entrance holes are in diameter. Flooding often occurs, and some holes have overhangs or other features that prevent or minimise it. Pair maintenance behaviour is demonstrated throughout the year, the male usually being assertive, and includes regurgitatory feeding, billing, and the male preening the feathers of the female's nape. Copulation has been observed in September and October, and the sequence that leads up to it is similar to that of the rose-ringed and Alexandrine parakeets. The male wipes his beak before approaching the female, walks slowly towards her, and preens her nape. The female squats horizontally, and is then mounted by the male, who repeatedly raises and drops his head during copulation. The mounting may last up to five minutes, whereafter the male may feed the female and the pair preen each other. Eggs are laid between August and October, mostly in late September and early October, and late clutches may be due to repeated laying. Clutch size has been reported as normally two to four. The eggs are typical of parrots, rounded and white, measuring around , and weighing about . Incubation takes about 21–25 days and is done entirely by the female, as in related species. During this time, the female is fed four or five times a day by the male, approximately once every two hours, outside the nest hole. The young are brooded by the female, and are left unattended most of the day from two weeks after hatching. Nestlings about two weeks old were observed being fed by a parent with intervals of up to 79 minutes. It