Rosella Hightower By Annemarie Heinrich
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Rosella Hightower By Annemarie Heinrich
Rosellas are in a genus that consists of six species and nineteen subspecies. These colourful parrots from Australia are in the genus ''Platycercus''. ''Platycercus'' means "broad-tailed" or "flat-tailed", reflecting a feature common to the rosellas and other members of the broad-tailed parrot tribe. Their diet is mainly seeds and fruit. Taxonomy The genus was described by naturalist Nicholas Aylward Vigors in 1825; the name ''Platycercus'' derived from the Greek ''platykerkos'' meaning "broad-" or "flat-tailed", from ''platys'' "broad, wide, level, flat" and ''kerkos'' "tail of a beast"., , . The relationships with other parrots have been unclear, with the Australian ringneck (genus '' Barnardius'') cited as a closest relative by some, and the genus ''Psephotus'' by others; the plumage of the western rosella seen as a link to the latter genus.Early European settlers encountered the eastern rosella at Rose Hill, New South Wales, now Parramatta, and so they called it the Ros ...
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Crimson Rosella
The crimson rosella (''Platycercus elegans'') is a parrot native to eastern and south eastern Australia which has been introduced to New Zealand and Norfolk Island. It is commonly found in, but not restricted to, mountain forests and gardens. The species as it now stands has subsumed two former separate species, the yellow rosella and the Adelaide rosella. Molecular studies show one of the three red-coloured races, ''P. e. nigrescens'', is genetically more distinct. Taxonomy The crimson rosella was Species description, formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the parrots in the genus ''Psittacus'' and coined the binomial nomenclature, binomial name ''Psittacus elegans''. This Latin name had been used in 1605 by the Flemish people, Flemish botanist Carolus Clusius in his book ''Exoticorum libri decem'' for the hawk-headed parrot, however this predates ...
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Parramatta
Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is commonly regarded as the secondary central business district of metropolitan Greater Sydney, Sydney. Parramatta is the municipal seat of the Local government areas of New South Wales, local government area of the City of Parramatta and is often regarded as one of the primary centres of the Greater Sydney metropolitan region, along with the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith, Campbelltown, New South Wales, Campbelltown, and Liverpool, New South Wales, Liverpool. Parramatta also has a long history as a second administrative centre in the Sydney metropolitan region, playing host to a number of government departments, as well as state and federal courts. It is often colloquially referred to as "Parra" ...
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Sexual Dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, dioecious species, which consist of most animals and some plants. Differences may include secondary sex characteristics, size, weight, color, markings, or behavioral or cognitive traits. Male-male reproductive competition has evolved a diverse array of sexually dimorphic traits. Aggressive utility traits such as "battle" teeth and blunt heads reinforced as battering rams are used as weapons in aggressive interactions between rivals. Passive displays such as ornamental feathering or song-calling have also evolved mainly through sexual selection. These differences may be subtle or exaggerated and may be subjected to sexual selection and natural selection. The opposite of dimorphism is ''monomorphism'', when both biological sexes are phenotype, ...
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Southwest Australia
Southwest Australia is a biogeographic region in Western Australia. It includes the Mediterranean-climate area of southwestern Australia, which is home to a diverse and distinctive flora and fauna. The region is also known as the Southwest Australia Global Diversity Hotspot. Geography The region includes the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregions of Western Australia. The region covers 356,717 km2, consisting of a broad coastal plain 20–120 kilometres wide, transitioning to gently undulating uplands made up of weathered granite, gneiss and laterite. Bluff Knoll in the Stirling Range is the highest peak in the region, at 1,099 metres (3,606 ft) elevation. Desert and xeric shrublands lie to the north and east across the centre of Australia, separating Southwest Australia from the other Mediterranean and humid-climate regions of the continent. Climate The region has a wet-winter, dry-summer Mediterranean climate, one of five such regions in the worl ...
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Platycercus Icterotis
The western rosella (''Platycercus icterotis''), or moyadong, is a species of parrot endemic to southwestern Australia. The head and underparts are bright red, and the back is mottled black; a yellow patch at the cheek distinguishes it from others of the genus '' Platycercus''. Adults of the species exhibit sexual dimorphism with the females duller overall; juveniles lack the striking colours of mature birds and the characteristic patterning is not as easily distinguished. Their communication call is a softly delivered ''pink-pink'' sound, and much of their behaviour is comparatively unobtrusive. Their habitat is in eucalypt forests and woodlands, where they often remain unobserved until they appear to feed on seeds at nearby cleared areas. Individuals form mating pairs and generally remain in one locality, although they will venture out to join small groups at plentiful sources of food. The western rosella is predominantly herbivorous, its diet consisting mostly of seeds of gra ...
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Platycercus Adscitus
The pale-headed rosella (''Platycercus adscitus''), is a broad-tailed parrot of the genus ''Platycercus'' native to northeastern Australia. It is a moderate-size parrot with a pale yellow head, predominantly white cheeks, scalloped black and gold back and pale blue underparts. Two subspecies are recognised, although some authorities consider it to be conspecific with the eastern rosella of southeastern Australia. Found in open woodland, it feeds on seeds and fruit. As with other rosellas, the pale-headed rosella nests in hollows of large trees. Even found to have a nest in a tree hollow 50 cm under ground rather than above ground. It readily adapts to aviculture and is sold as a cagebird. Taxonomy The pale-headed rosella was formally described in 1790 by the English ornithologist John Latham and given the binomial name ''Psittacus adscitus''. The specific epithet is from Latin ''asciscere'' meaning "to approve". Latham did not specify a locality but in 1912 Gregory Mathe ...
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Platycercus Venustus
The northern rosella (''Platycercus venustus''), formerly known as Brown's rosella or the smutty rosella, is a species of parrot native to northern Australia, ranging from the Gulf of Carpentaria and Arnhem Land to the Kimberley. It was described by Heinrich Kuhl in 1820, and two subspecies are recognised. The species is unusually coloured for a rosella, with a dark head and neck with pale cheeks—predominantly white in the subspecies from the Northern Territory and blue in the Western Australian subspecies ''hillii''. The northern rosella's mantle and scapulars are black with fine yellow scallops, while its back, rump and underparts are pale yellow with fine black scallops. The long tail is blue-green, and the wings are black and blue-violet. The sexes have similar plumage, while females and younger birds are generally duller with occasional spots of red. Found in woodland and open savanna country, the northern rosella is predominantly herbivorous, consuming seeds, particular ...
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Platycercus Caledonicus
The green rosella or Tasmanian rosella (''Platycercus caledonicus'') is a species of parrot native to Tasmania and Bass Strait islands. It was described by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, and named on the mistaken assumption it came from New Caledonia. At long it is the largest species of the rosella genus, ''Platycercus''. Two subspecies are recognised. The green rosella's underparts, neck and head are yellow, with a red band above the beak and violet-blue cheeks. The back is mostly black and green, and its long tail blue and green. The sexes have similar plumage, except the female has duller yellow plumage and more prominent red markings, as well as a smaller beak. Juvenile and immature birds have predominantly green plumage. Found in a wide range of habitats with some form of tree cover, the green rosella is predominantly herbivorous, consuming seeds, berries, nuts and fruit, as well as flowers, but may also eat insect larvae and insects such as psyl ...
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Heinrich Kuhl
Heinrich Kuhl (17 September 1797 – 14 September 1821) was a German people, German naturalist and zoologist. Kuhl was born in Hanau (Hesse, Germany). Between 1817 and 1820, he was the assistant of professor Th. van Swinderen, docent of natural history at the University of Groningen in Groningen (the Netherlands). In 1817, he published a monograph on bats, and in 1819, he published a survey of the parrots, ''Conspectus psittacorum''. He also published the first monograph on the petrels, and a list of all the birds illustrated in Edme-Louis Daubenton, Daubenton's ''Planches Enluminées'' and with his friend Johan Coenraad van Hasselt (1797–1823) ''Beiträge zur Zoologie und vergleichenden Anatomie'' ("Contributions to Zoology and Comparative Anatomy") that were published at Frankfurt-am-Main, 1820. In 1820, he became assistant to Coenraad Jacob Temminck at the Leiden Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie. He then travelled to Java (island), Java, then part of the colonial Nethe ...
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