Eastern Rosellas: Cute as a Crayon!

I'd love to say I hunted down and photographed this bird after grueling hours of nature walks and trying to get just the right shot. The fact is, while I had begun to despair of finding them since my first sighting, one of the birds was kind enough to fly right in front of me and land at a nice height a short distance away. This was despite the fact I had startled her from her perch to begin with. So let's give a round of appreciative golf claps for the Eastern Rosella!

Oh wonderful! That was much better than that raucous din you generated for the Rainbow Lorikeet. I found these birds to be much quieter, so I'd hate for her to--

*sigh*

I suppose she'll come back eventually. In the mean time, here's some facts about the Eastern Rosella:
____________________________________________________________
Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius)

Size: 29-33 cm (11.4-13 in)
Eats: seeds, fruits, buds, flowers, nectar, bugs
Habitat: open woodlands with grassy ground cover, farmland, crops, gardens, etc...
Behaviors: grazes food on the ground, prefers to live in small flocks
Breeding: August-December, nests in hollows. Incubated by female while male does the food gathering. Leave nest around 5 weeks old. Eastern Rosellas mate for life.
______________________________________________________


Oh look! Our little friend is back just in time for us to talk about her pomp plumage!

Hello, Gorgeous

As you can see, the Eastern Rosella has a red head and breast which changes to a yellow belly and you can juuuust see how it becomes a light green towards their legs, with some red under the tail. Their shoulders and wings are bright blue. Their back feathers are multicoloured, with the black and yellow-green making the parakeet-like appearance. This scalloped pattern helps them blend into their surroundings like camouflage and it can actually be quite difficult to catch site of them in a tree if they do not move. Their white cheeks give them the "innocent" appearance that put you in mind of a preschool craft kit versus the aforementioned Pride Parade crayon can the Rainbow Lorikeet utilizes. You just want to scratch those little white cheeks until they're all fluffed!

In differentiating these Rosellas from the Rainbow Lorikeets, I found their red head was the most obvious distinguishing mark. Their tails are also broad and blue, where Rainbow Lorikeets have longer green tails. The Eastern Rosellas also have a more "undulating" flight pattern (isn't that just the most marvelous word?), where Lorikeets usually squeal, dart, and cavort about like they own the place or something.

In other words, despite both being very colourful birds, the Rainbow Lorikeet is the victorious footballer and the Rosella is just trying to get some reading done, thanks... Or as another fun analogy--everyone loves these, right?--Rainbow Lorikeets are the outlandish frontmen and Eastern Rosellas are more then unassuming but talented bass players.

"I suppose if he LIKES making that much noise..."

There is also a Western Rosella that appears similar, but their cheek patch is yellow and their entire head, breast and belly is a duller red-orange colouration. The Western Rosella also shows more "sexual dimorphism" (the genders look different), with the female only having a bit of mottled red-green on her throat, underside and crown. This species lives in the southwest corner of Australia.

Further Learning!
Birds in Backyards Information Page

Bird Life Australia Information Page


Next Episode: The Spy Who Scalped Me!