Eastern Rosella |
|
|
Also known as: Rosella, Red Rosella, Common Rosella, White-cheeked Rosella, Red-headed Rosella, Golden-mantled Rosella
Wild Eastern Rosella
© David Cook [CC BY-NC 2.0] via Flickr
Photos
View in GalleryDid You Know?
Rosellas are unique in the parrot world because of the black scalloping on the feathers of the mantle and back, and a prominent patch on the cheeks extending to the throat.Academic Research
Related publications: Platycercus eximiusSpecies Profile
Genus: Platycercus | Species: eximius
Size:
30cm (11.7 in)
Weight:
95-120g (3.3-4.2 oz)
Subspecies including nominate:
three: P.e. eximius, P.e. elecica, P.e. diemenensis
Colour Adult:
P.e. eximius: Male-red head and breast; white cheeks; yellow lower breast; pale green abdomen; red undertail coverts; black back with green spotting; blue outer wing coverts; pale green rump. Bill white. Eye brown. Female-as in male but head and breast paler in colour; underwing stripe pale coloured.
P.e. elecica: Both adults green/blue rump and uppertail coverts; gold spotting on back in male, green/yellow in female.
P.e. diemenensis: Both adults as in eximius, but with larger white cheeks patches; darker red head.
Colour Juvenile:
P.e. eximius: As in female but duller with pale underwing stripe.
Call:
Call in flight sharp; while perched a three syllable whistle on an ascending scale. Also metallic and piping notes at rest. Shrill screech when startled. Soft chattering or babbling while feeding.
Listen NowVideo Links:
Video 1 | Video 2 | Video 3More Information:
Content Sources:
CITES
Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Birds of the World
Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World, Juniper and Parr, 1998
ML Media Collection Catalogue 8538, Eastern Rosella Platycercus eximius, Loetscher, Fred W., Jr., New South Wales, Australia, Feb. 25 1969, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Site
Parrots of the World, Forshaw and Cooper, 1977. 2010 edition
Parrots of the World, Forshaw, 2006.
Lexicon of Parrots, Thomas Arndt.
Parrots in Aviculture, Low, 1992.
Parrots: Their Care and Breeding, Low, 1986.
Wild Eastern Rosella
© David Cook [CC BY-NC 2.0] via Flickr
Photos
View in GalleryDid You Know?
Rosellas are unique in the parrot world because of the black scalloping on the feathers of the mantle and back, and a prominent patch on the cheeks extending to the throat.Academic Research
Related publications: Platycercus eximiusSpecies Care
Captive Status:
Quite common in captivity.
Longevity:
20 yrs
Housing:
Walk-in enclosure, minimum length 3m (9.8 ft).
Diet:
Small seed mix such as: canary, oats, safflower and small amount of hemp; spray millet; limited sunflower seed, dry, soaked or sprouted; sprouting pulses such as mung beans; cooked butter and other beans and lentils; boiled maize; green leaves such as: Swiss chard, lettuce, sowthistle, chickweed, dandelion; vegetables such as: carrot, corn, celery, zucchini or squash, green beans and peas in the pod; fruits such as: apple, pear, banana, orange, pomegranate; nuts such as: walnuts, lightly cracked hazelnuts, pecans and roasted peanuts; complete pellet.
Enrichment:
Provide fresh, unsprayed branches often, other chewables such as heat sterlized pine cones, wooden toys, and vegetable tanned leather toys. Also provide bowls for bathing.
Nest Box Size:
Vertical box 7" x 7" x 24" (17.8cm x 17.8cm x 61cm).
Clutch Size:
6-7
Incubation Time:
20 days
Fledging Age:
5 weeks
Hatch Weight:
Not recorded.
Peak Weight:
Not recorded.
Weaning Weight:
Not recorded.
Specialist Club:
Wild Eastern Rosella
© David Cook [CC BY-NC 2.0] via Flickr
Photos
View in GalleryDid You Know?
Rosellas are unique in the parrot world because of the black scalloping on the feathers of the mantle and back, and a prominent patch on the cheeks extending to the throat.Academic Research
Related publications: Platycercus eximiusSpecies Wild Status
World Population:
Unknown, increasing.
IUCN Red List Status:
Least Concern
CITES Listing:
Appendix II
Threat Summary:
Not globally threatened. Abundant in most of range. Has benefited from forest clearance for pasture and cereal cultivation. Race diemenensis is declining in Tasmania.
Range:
P.e. eximus: NE New South Wales south to SE South Australia.
P.e. elecica: NE New South Wales north to SE Queensland.
P.e. diemenensis: E Tasmania.
Habitat:
Are found up to 1250m (4100 ft) in a variety of habitats such as open forest, woodland, riverine forest, Eucalypt copses, forest margins, grasslands, paddocks, agricultural lands and suburbs.
Wild Diet:
Feeds on seeds of Eucalyptus and Acacia are favoured, with seeds of shrubs and grasses such as Capsella bursapastoris, Cerastium vulgatum, Melilotus alba, Onopordon acanthium, Carduus marionus, Hypochaeris radicata, Actinotus helianthi, Amaranthus and Oxalis; will sometimes extracts seeds from dung. Also berries of Pyracantha and Crataegus, eucalypt blossoms, Populus leaf-buds, Gazania leaves, insects and their eggs and larvae, Schedotrioza psyllids. Commonly takes spilt grain in farmyards and at roadsides.
Ecology and Behaviour:
Feeds both in the trees and on the ground, usually in pairs or small groups. Large flocks are sometimes seen from the end of the breeding season until spring. Birds feed early in the day, rest during the hottest hours of the day, then feed before roosting at night.
Clutch and Egg Size:
6-7 rounded eggs, 27.0 x 21.5mm (1 x 0.8 in)
Breeding Season:
August–February, sometimes April–May. Nest is in hollow limb or tree; also stump, fence post, fallen log, rabbit burrow, enlarged tunnel of Rainbow Bee-eater, abandoned cavity of other species of bird, elkhorn fern on side of house, rock face and buildings.
Related Links:
Wild Eastern Rosella
© David Cook [CC BY-NC 2.0] via Flickr
Photos
View in GalleryDid You Know?
Rosellas are unique in the parrot world because of the black scalloping on the feathers of the mantle and back, and a prominent patch on the cheeks extending to the throat.Academic Research
Related publications: Platycercus eximiusMembers Only Resources
Please log-in now to find more research, resources and tools.
Not a Member?
Find more great information:
Gain exclusive access to 600+ pages of additional research, seminars and podcasts, specialists to ask your toughest questions, and dozens of other fun resources - when you become a WPT member.
Join Today >>
Already a Member?
Encyclopedia
