Rosellas/roʊˈzɛləz/[2] 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",[3] reflecting a feature common to the rosellas and other members of the broad-tailed parrot tribe. Their diet is mainly seeds and fruit.
The genus was described by naturalist Nicholas Aylward Vigors in 1825; the name Platycercus derived from the Greekplatykerkos meaning "broad-" or "flat-tailed", from platys "broad, wide, level, flat" and kerkos "tail of a beast".[3][4][5] 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.[6]
Early European settlers encountered the eastern rosella at Rose Hill, New South Wales, now Parramatta, and so they called it the Rosehill parakeet which became "Rosehiller", and eventually "rosella".[7] Vigors defined the genus Platycercus in 1825, based on the distinctive architecture of the feathers in the tail and wing, and designated the crimson rosella Platycercus elegans (as Platycercus pennantii) as the type species.[4] The description as a flat or broad tail follows Heinrich Kuhl, who separated his psittacine specimens to a group with tails that were "narrow and cuneated", that is, a tapering wedged outline.[5]
There are, broadly speaking, three groups of rosella species. They are the blue-cheeked species which includes elegans and caledonicus, the white-cheeked species, eximius, adscitus and venustus and the yellow-cheeked species, icterotis. The observed difference in plumage has been reinforced by molecular studies in 1987 and 2015 that place the icterotis as a basal offshoot.[8]
There are six species and many subspecies:[9] Ovenden and colleagues analysed mitochondrial DNA, confirming the blue-cheeked and white-cheeked lineages. They found P. caledonicus to be basal to the other blue-cheeked forms, with P. elegans nigrescens being divergent from other subspecies of P. elegans. Also, P. venustus was basal to P. eximius and P. adscitus.[8] However, a mitochondrial study published in 2017 found that P. eximius was the earlier offshoot of the lineage that split into P. adscitus and P. venustus, and that nonsister taxa were hence able to hybridise.[10] In 2015, Ashlee Shipham and colleagues published a molecular study based on nuclear DNA finding that P. venustus and P. adscitus were sister species, and that P. elegans nigrescens diverged earlier than P. caledonicus.[11]
Comparison of Platycercus heads in Gould's Synopsis (1837).Green rosella in Tasmania. It is the largest rosella at 37 cm (14.5 in) long
26 cm (10 in) long, the smallest rosella. The male is mainly red with yellow cheek patches, green rump, and a dark green tail. The female is duller, with a mainly green head, reddish forehead, yellow cheeks, and variegated green-red underparts. Colours of scalloped back feathers differ between two subspecies. The bill is whitish and the irises are dark brown.[12]
36 cm long, seven subspecies, three of which are actually crimson. The red is replaced by yellow in the case of var. flaveolus and a mixture of red, orange and yellow in the Adelaide rosella.
37 cm (15 in) long, the largest rosella. It has a yellow head and underparts with blue cheeks and a red frontal band above the bill. The feathers on the back and inner wings are black with narrow green margins at their tips, and the outer wing feathers are blue and green. Rump olive and the tail green. Irises are dark brown and the bill is light grey.[13]
30 cm long, mostly covered in blue except for the upper breast and head which are cream-yellow, the tail is blue-black and green, and an area around the vent is red. Two subspecies.
30 cm (12 in) long. Red head and white cheeks. The upper breast is red and the lower breast is yellow fading to pale green over the abdomen. The feathers of the back and shoulders are black, and have yellowish or greenish margins giving rise to a scalloped appearance that varies slightly between three subspecies and the sexes. The wings and lateral tail feathers are bluish while the tail is dark green.[12]
Australia and Tasmania. Introduced to New Zealand where feral populations are found in most of the North Island and the hills around Dunedin in the South Island[14]
28 cm long, forehead, crown and nape are black in colour with white-on-blue cheek-patches. The back and wing feathers are blackish with yellow borders, while the feathers of the belly, chest and rump are pale yellow with black borders giving rise to a scalloped appearance, tail is bluish green. The bill is pale grey.
The northern rosella is found from the Gulf of Carpentaria, through Arnhem Land to the Kimberleys in open savannah country, Australia.
DescriptionEdit
Ranging in size from 26–37 cm (10–14+1⁄2 in), rosellas are medium-sized parrots with long tails.[13] The feathers on their backs show an obvious scalloping appearance with colouring that differs between the species.[13] All species have distinctive cheek patches.[13]Sexual dimorphism is absent or slight – males and females generally have similar plumage, apart from the western rosella.[6] The juveniles of the blue-cheeked species, and western rosella, all have a distinctive green-based plumage, while immature plumage of the white-cheeked species is merely a duller version of the adults.[6]
Distribution and habitatEdit
Rosellas are native to Australia and nearby islands, where they inhabit forests, woodlands, farmlands, and suburban parks and gardens. They are confined to the coastal mountains and plains and are absent from the outback. Introduced populations have also established themselves in New Zealand (notably in the North Island and in north Dunedin) and on Norfolk Island.
Behaviour and ecologyEdit
Rosellas feed predominantly on seeds and fruit, with food held in the foot. They enjoy bathing in puddles of water in the wild and in captivity.[15] Rosellas scratch their heads with the foot behind the wing.[15]
Mutual preening is not exhibited by the genus, and the courtship display is simple; the male waves his tail sideways, and engages in some head bobbing, and the female reciprocates.[6]
Like most parrots, they are cavity nesters, generally nesting high in older large trees in forested areas. They generally have a clutch size of several eggs which are incubated for around 21 days by the female alone. The male feeds the female through this time and for some time after incubation concludes. Quickly covered in a white down, chicks take around five weeks to fledge.[6]
AvicultureEdit
The more colourful rosella species are popular as pet parrots and also as aviary birds. They can live for longer than 20 years, and they are relatively easy to breed.[16] All have a reputation for being aggressive in captivity, and are hence recommended be kept separate from other caged birds. Their diet in aviculture includes seeds, fruit such as apple, pear, and grapes, and vegetable matter such as lettuce, grass, and silver beet.[15]
ReferencesEdit
^"Psittaculidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
^"rosella". The Chambers Dictionary (9th ed.). Chambers. 2003. ISBN0-550-10105-5.
^ abVigors, Nicholas Aylward (1825). "Descriptions of some rare, interesting, or hitherto uncharacterized subjects of Zoology". Zoological Journal. 1: 526–542 [527].
^ abGray, Jeannie; Fraser, Ian (2013). Australian Bird Names: A Complete Guide. Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO Publishing. p. 150. ISBN978-0-643-10471-6.
^Shipham A, Schmidt DJ, Joseph L, Hughes JM (2017). "A genomic approach reinforces a hypothesis of mitochondrial capture in eastern Australian rosellas". The Auk. 134 (1): 181–92. doi:10.1642/AUK-16-31.1. hdl:10072/338495. S2CID 89599006.
^Shipham A, Schmidt D, Joseph L, Hughes J (2015). "Phylogenetic analysis of the Australian rosella parrots (Platycercus) reveals discordance among molecules and plumage". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 91: 150–159. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.05.012. PMID 26021439.
^Wright D, Clout M (2001): The eastern rosella (Platycercus eximius) in New Zealand. DOC Science Internal Series 18. Department of Conservation, Wellington. 27 p (out of print) PDF fulltext
^Alderton, David (2003). The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Caged and Aviary Birds. London, England: Hermes House. p. 185. ISBN1-84309-164-X. OCLC 650095388.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Platycercus.
Lendon, Alan H. (1973). Australian Parrots in Field and Aviary (2nd ed.). Sydney: Angus and Robertson. ISBN0-207-12424-8. OCLC 1139146.
External LinksEdit
"Platycercus Vigors, 1825". Atlas of Living Australia.
October 22, 2023
rosella, this, article, about, genus, other, uses, disambiguation, genus, that, consists, species, nineteen, subspecies, these, colourful, parrots, from, australia, genus, platycercus, platycercus, means, broad, tailed, flat, tailed, reflecting, feature, commo. This article is about the genus For other uses see Rosella disambiguation Rosellas r oʊ ˈ z ɛ l e z 2 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 3 reflecting a feature common to the rosellas and other members of the broad tailed parrot tribe Their diet is mainly seeds and fruit RosellaAdult crimson rosella P elegans Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClade DinosauriaClass AvesOrder PsittaciformesFamily PsittaculidaeTribe PlatycerciniGenus PlatycercusVigors 1825Type speciesPsittacus pennantii 1 Latham 1790SpeciesPlatycercus icterotis Platycercus elegans Platycercus caledonicus Platycercus adscitus Platycercus eximius Platycercus venustus Contents 1 Taxonomy 2 Description 3 Distribution and habitat 4 Behaviour and ecology 5 Aviculture 6 References 7 Cited texts 8 External LinksTaxonomy EditThe 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 3 4 5 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 6 Early European settlers encountered the eastern rosella at Rose Hill New South Wales now Parramatta and so they called it the Rosehill parakeet which became Rosehiller and eventually rosella 7 Vigors defined the genus Platycercus in 1825 based on the distinctive architecture of the feathers in the tail and wing and designated the crimson rosella Platycercus elegans as Platycercus pennantii as the type species 4 The description as a flat or broad tail follows Heinrich Kuhl who separated his psittacine specimens to a group with tails that were narrow and cuneated that is a tapering wedged outline 5 There are broadly speaking three groups of rosella species They are the blue cheeked species which includes elegans and caledonicus the white cheeked species eximius adscitus and venustus and the yellow cheeked species icterotis The observed difference in plumage has been reinforced by molecular studies in 1987 and 2015 that place the icterotis as a basal offshoot 8 There are six species and many subspecies 9 Ovenden and colleagues analysed mitochondrial DNA confirming the blue cheeked and white cheeked lineages They found P caledonicus to be basal to the other blue cheeked forms with P elegans nigrescens being divergent from other subspecies of P elegans Also P venustus was basal to P eximius and P adscitus 8 However a mitochondrial study published in 2017 found that P eximius was the earlier offshoot of the lineage that split into P adscitus and P venustus and that nonsister taxa were hence able to hybridise 10 In 2015 Ashlee Shipham and colleagues published a molecular study based on nuclear DNA finding that P venustus and P adscitus were sister species and that P elegans nigrescens diverged earlier than P caledonicus 11 nbsp Comparison of Platycercus heads in Gould s Synopsis 1837 nbsp Green rosella in Tasmania It is the largest rosella at 37 cm 14 5 in longPlatycercus Vigors 1825 Platycercus caledonicus Gmelin 1788 Platycercus caledonicus brownii Kuhl 1820 Platycercus caledonicus caledonicus Gmelin 1788 Platycercus elegans Gmelin 1788 Platycercus elegans elegans Gmelin 1788 Platycercus elegans flaveolus Gould 1837 Platycercus elegans fleurieuensis Ashby 1917 Platycercus elegans melanopterus North 1906 Platycercus elegans nigrescens Ramsay EP 1888 Platycercus elegans subadelaidae Mathews 1912 Platycercus elegans adeleidae Gould 1841 Platycercus elegans filewoodi McAllan amp Bruce 1989 Platycercus venustus Kuhl 1820 Platycercus venustus hilli Mathews 1910 Platycercus venustus venustus Kuhl 1820 Platycercus adscitus Latham 1790 Platycercus adscitus adscitus Latham 1790 Platycercus adscitus palliceps Lear 1832 Platycercus eximius Shaw 1792 Platycercus eximius diemenensis North 1911 Platycercus eximius elecica Schodde amp Short 1989 Platycercus eximius eximius Shaw 1792 Platycercus icterotis Temminck amp Kuhl 1820 Platycercus icterotis icterotis Temminck amp Kuhl 1820 Platycercus icterotis xanthogenys Salvadori 1891SpeciesCommon and binomial names Photograph Description RangeWestern rosella Platycercus icterotis nbsp 26 cm 10 in long the smallest rosella The male is mainly red with yellow cheek patches green rump and a dark green tail The female is duller with a mainly green head reddish forehead yellow cheeks and variegated green red underparts Colours of scalloped back feathers differ between two subspecies The bill is whitish and the irises are dark brown 12 Southwest AustraliaCrimson rosella Platycercus elegans nbsp 36 cm long seven subspecies three of which are actually crimson The red is replaced by yellow in the case of var flaveolus and a mixture of red orange and yellow in the Adelaide rosella East and Southeast AustraliaGreen rosella Platycercus caledonicus nbsp 37 cm 15 in long the largest rosella It has a yellow head and underparts with blue cheeks and a red frontal band above the bill The feathers on the back and inner wings are black with narrow green margins at their tips and the outer wing feathers are blue and green Rump olive and the tail green Irises are dark brown and the bill is light grey 13 TasmaniaPale headed rosella Platycercus adscitus nbsp 30 cm long mostly covered in blue except for the upper breast and head which are cream yellow the tail is blue black and green and an area around the vent is red Two subspecies Eastern AustraliaEastern rosella Platycercus eximius nbsp 30 cm 12 in long Red head and white cheeks The upper breast is red and the lower breast is yellow fading to pale green over the abdomen The feathers of the back and shoulders are black and have yellowish or greenish margins giving rise to a scalloped appearance that varies slightly between three subspecies and the sexes The wings and lateral tail feathers are bluish while the tail is dark green 12 Australia and Tasmania Introduced to New Zealand where feral populations are found in most of the North Island and the hills around Dunedin in the South Island 14 Northern rosella Platycercus venustus nbsp 28 cm long forehead crown and nape are black in colour with white on blue cheek patches The back and wing feathers are blackish with yellow borders while the feathers of the belly chest and rump are pale yellow with black borders giving rise to a scalloped appearance tail is bluish green The bill is pale grey The northern rosella is found from the Gulf of Carpentaria through Arnhem Land to the Kimberleys in open savannah country Australia Description EditRanging in size from 26 37 cm 10 14 1 2 in rosellas are medium sized parrots with long tails 13 The feathers on their backs show an obvious scalloping appearance with colouring that differs between the species 13 All species have distinctive cheek patches 13 Sexual dimorphism is absent or slight males and females generally have similar plumage apart from the western rosella 6 The juveniles of the blue cheeked species and western rosella all have a distinctive green based plumage while immature plumage of the white cheeked species is merely a duller version of the adults 6 Distribution and habitat EditRosellas are native to Australia and nearby islands where they inhabit forests woodlands farmlands and suburban parks and gardens They are confined to the coastal mountains and plains and are absent from the outback Introduced populations have also established themselves in New Zealand notably in the North Island and in north Dunedin and on Norfolk Island Behaviour and ecology EditRosellas feed predominantly on seeds and fruit with food held in the foot They enjoy bathing in puddles of water in the wild and in captivity 15 Rosellas scratch their heads with the foot behind the wing 15 Mutual preening is not exhibited by the genus and the courtship display is simple the male waves his tail sideways and engages in some head bobbing and the female reciprocates 6 Like most parrots they are cavity nesters generally nesting high in older large trees in forested areas They generally have a clutch size of several eggs which are incubated for around 21 days by the female alone The male feeds the female through this time and for some time after incubation concludes Quickly covered in a white down chicks take around five weeks to fledge 6 Aviculture EditThe more colourful rosella species are popular as pet parrots and also as aviary birds They can live for longer than 20 years and they are relatively easy to breed 16 All have a reputation for being aggressive in captivity and are hence recommended be kept separate from other caged birds Their diet in aviculture includes seeds fruit such as apple pear and grapes and vegetable matter such as lettuce grass and silver beet 15 References Edit Psittaculidae aviansystematics org The Trust for Avian Systematics Retrieved 2023 07 24 rosella The Chambers Dictionary 9th ed Chambers 2003 ISBN 0 550 10105 5 a b platykerkos platys kerkos Liddell Henry George Scott Robert A Greek English Lexicon at the Perseus Project a b Vigors Nicholas Aylward 1825 Descriptions of some rare interesting or hitherto uncharacterized subjects of Zoology Zoological Journal 1 526 542 527 a b Gray Jeannie Fraser Ian 2013 Australian Bird Names A Complete Guide Collingwood Victoria CSIRO Publishing p 150 ISBN 978 0 643 10471 6 a b c d e Lendon 1973 p 169 Stepnell Kenneth Boles Walter 1983 Australia s beautiful birds and their young Australian Consolidated Press p 88 ISBN 0 949892 13 0 a b Ovenden JR Mackinlay AG Crozie RH 1987 Systematics and Mitochondrial Genome Evolution of Australian rosellas Aves Platycercidae Molecular Biology and Evolution 4 5 526 543 doi 10 1093 oxfordjournals molbev a040462 Zoological Nomenclature Resource Psittaciformes Version 9 024 www zoonomen net 2009 05 30 Shipham A Schmidt DJ Joseph L Hughes JM 2017 A genomic approach reinforces a hypothesis of mitochondrial capture in eastern Australian rosellas The Auk 134 1 181 92 doi 10 1642 AUK 16 31 1 hdl 10072 338495 S2CID 89599006 Shipham A Schmidt D Joseph L Hughes J 2015 Phylogenetic analysis of the Australian rosella parrots Platycercus reveals discordance among molecules and plumage Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 91 150 159 doi 10 1016 j ympev 2015 05 012 PMID 26021439 a b Forshaw 2006 plate 56 a b c d Forshaw 2006 plate 53 Wright D Clout M 2001 The eastern rosella Platycercus eximius in New Zealand DOC Science Internal Series 18 Department of Conservation Wellington 27 p out of print PDF fulltext a b c Lendon 1973 p 170 Alderton David 2003 The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Caged and Aviary Birds London England Hermes House p 185 ISBN 1 84309 164 X OCLC 650095388 nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Platycercus Cited texts EditForshaw Joseph M 2006 Parrots of the World an Identification Guide Illustrated by Frank Knight Princeton University Press ISBN 0 691 09251 6 OCLC 57893782 Lendon Alan H 1973 Australian Parrots in Field and Aviary 2nd ed Sydney Angus and Robertson ISBN 0 207 12424 8 OCLC 1139146 External Links Edit Platycercus Vigors 1825 Atlas of Living Australia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rosella amp oldid 1166964087, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
