Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius)

Other Names (World)
Eastern Rosella, White-cheecked Rosella, Mealy Rosella, Smutty Rosella, Brown's Rosella, Golden-mantled Rosella, Rosella, Rosehill Parakeet, Rosy, Joey, Pretty Joey, Nonpareil Parrot, Rosella Parrot

Family
Psittacidae (Parrots)

Size
28 - 32 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Shaw, 1792)

Derivation
Plat-y-cerc'-us - Gk, platys, flat; Gk, cercos, tail: ex-im'-i-us - L., excellent

Habitat
Open grassy forests, woodlands. Timbered watercourse, farmlands, crops, roadsides, parks and gardens.

Range (Guide)

Australia (B).

Introduced to New Zealand (B).

Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Seeds of grasses, fruits and berries.

Voice
Loud, harsh, staccato 'chut-chit, chut-chit....chut-chit' in contact in flight and alarm. Perched birds give tri-syllabic whistle or metallic, piping whistle, possibly to signal location. Constant musical chattering while feeding in trees and socializing. All calls resemble that of the Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans), but are higher in pitch.

(49Kb) © ? (2)

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (45)...)

Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius) [XC695230]
by Marc Anderson from Bimbi, New South Wales, Australia (call)

Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius) [XC695232]
by Marc Anderson from Bimbi, New South Wales, Australia (song)

Nest
In a hole in a tree, stump, or fence-post. Rarely in a rabbit-burrow or termite-mound.

Eggs (Guide)
3 - 9, usually 4 - 6; white; round; 26 - 29 x 21 - 23 mm. Incubation: 19 - 20 days; by female.

Young
Fledge in 5 - 6 weeks.

Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with Northern Rosella (Platycercus venustus) and Pale-headed Rosella (Platycercus adscitus) and sometimes considered conspecific with both.

The following 4 subspecies are recognised:

elecica Schodde & Short, 1989 - Eastern Australia (south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales).
eximius (Shaw, 1792) - South-eastern New South Wales, Victoria and south-eastern South Australia.
diemenensis North, 1911 - Tasmania.
cecilae (Shaw, 1792) - South-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales.

References
See References.

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

More... see more information (images, calls, videos etc)

Files:

More Information

BirdLife International

For more information about the Eastern Rosella see... Show Articles

BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Articles about the Eastern Rosella

If you would like to read any articles about the Eastern Rosella...

Show Articles (0)

No Pictures of Eastern Rosella

If Birdpedia has no pictures of Eastern Rosella or you would like to see more, then try the following...

Show External Images from BING

From BING (10)

No Videos of Eastern Rosella

If Birdpedia has no videos of Eastern Rosella or you would like to see more, then try the following..

Show External Videos

From BING (0)