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Crimson Rosella
Platycercus elegans elegans
-26.88, 151.6
Field Notes
Description:
There are five subspecies of which three are actually crimson (Wiki), and "[t]he form it is named for [P. e. elegans] has mostly crimson (red) plumage and bright blue cheeks. The feathers of the back and wing coverts are black broadly edged with red. The flight feathers of the wings have broad blue edges and the tail is blue above and pale blue below and on the outer feathers." (Birdlife Australia - http://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/crimson-rosella )
Habitat:
Hanging out near the picnic table at the Bunya Mountains.
Notes:
The Bunya Mountains National Park is my old stomping ground from when I was a kid. Way back then we would arm ourselves with birdseed (there are dedicated feeding times nowadays), stretch out our arms and become inundated with Crimson Rosellas and King-Parrots (Alisterus scapularis). They would march up and down our arms, land on our heads and argue with each other about who gets the seed. On my visit before this one (outside of feeding times), I did not see a single Crimson Rosella or King-Parrot. On this trip, this is the only Crimson Rosella I saw as well as two King-Parrots (both males). Things sure have changed since way back when.
Here is some interesting news about "Hybrid natives: Crimson rosellas, eastern rosellas spotted cross-breeding in Canberra" (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-14/rare-hybrid-rosellas-spotted-in-c… )
And some more interesting stuff about colour variations linked to a virus (http://theconversation.com/colour-variability-in-crimson-rosellas-is-li… )
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