Rosella

{{Short description|Genus of birds}} {{About|the genus|other uses|Rosella (disambiguation)}} {{Use Australian English|date=September 2021}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Platycercus elegans Wilsons Prom.jpg | image_caption = Adult crimson rosella (''P. elegans'') | taxon = Platycercus | authority = Vigors, 1825 | type_species = ''Psittacus pennantii''<ref name=HM4>{{cite web |url= https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=218 |title= Psittaculidae |author= |date= |website= aviansystematics.org |publisher= The Trust for Avian Systematics |access-date= 2023-07-24}}</ref> | type_species_authority = Latham, 1790 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = *''Platycercus icterotis'' *''Platycercus elegans'' *''Platycercus caledonicus'' *''Platycercus adscitus'' *''Platycercus eximius'' *''Platycercus venustus'' }}

'''Rosellas''' {{IPAc-en|r|oU|"|z|E|l|@|z}}<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Chambers Dictionary|publisher=Chambers|year=2003|isbn=0-550-10105-5|edition=9th|chapter=rosella}}</ref> 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",<ref name="LSJ"/> 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".<ref name="LSJ">{{LSJ|platu/kerkos|πλατύκερκος}}, {{LSJ|platu/s|πλατύς}}, {{LSJ|ke/rkos|κέρκος|ref}}.</ref><ref name=vigors>{{ cite journal | last=Vigors | first=Nicholas Aylward | author-link=Nicholas Aylward Vigors | year=1825 | title=Descriptions of some rare, interesting, or hitherto uncharacterized subjects of Zoology | journal=Zoological Journal | volume=1 | pages=526–542 [527] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13382379 }}</ref><ref name="Gray13" /> 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.<ref name=Lendon169/>[[File:Platycercus details in Gould Synopsis Birds Aust.jpg|right|thumb|Comparison of ''Platycercus'' heads in Gould's ''Synopsis'' (1837).|264x264px]]Early European settlers encountered the eastern rosella at Rose Hill, New South Wales, now Parramatta, and so they called it the Rosehill parrot<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2185141 |title=A Glossary ... Natural History of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land |newspaper=The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser |volume=XXIV |issue=1176 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=28 January 1826 |accessdate=23 August 2025 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> which became "Rosehiller", and eventually "rosella".<ref>{{cite book| title = Australia's beautiful birds and their young |first1 = Kenneth |last1 = Stepnell | first2 = Walter |last2 = Boles |year = 1983 |isbn = 0-949892-13-0 |publisher = Australian Consolidated Press | page = 88}}</ref> 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.<ref name=vigors/> 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.<ref name="Gray13" />

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.<ref name="ovenden87" />

There are six species and many subspecies:<ref name="zoonomen" /> 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''.<ref name=ovenden87/> 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.<ref name="Shipham2017" /> 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''.<ref name="Shipham 2015" />{{Species table |genus=Platycercus |authority-name= Vigors |authority-year=1825 |species-count=six|no-note=y|narrow-percent=75}} {{Species table/row |name= Green rosella|binomial=Platycercus caledonicus |image=File:Platycercus caledonicus - Melaleuca.jpg |image-size=180px |image-alt= |authority-name=Gmelin |authority-year=1788 |authority-not-original=yes |range= Tasmania |range-image=File:Platycercuscaledonicusrgemap.png |range-image-size=180px |size={{convert|37|cm|in|abbr=on}} 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.<ref name="Forshaw (2006). plate 53.">{{harvnb|Forshaw|2006|loc=plate 53}}</ref> |habitat= |hunting= |iucn-status= LC |population= |direction= |subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Two subspecies |bullets=on |''Platycercus caledonicus brownii'', (Kuhl 1820) |''Platycercus caledonicus caledonicus'', (Gmelin 1788) }} }}

{{Species table/row |name= Crimson rosella|binomial=Platycercus elegans |image=File:Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans) (10019166233).jpg |image-size=180px |image-alt= |authority-name=Gmelin |authority-year=1788 |authority-not-original=yes |range= East and Southeast Australia |range-image=File:Platycercus elegans range.png |range-image-size=180px |size=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. |habitat= |hunting= |iucn-status= LC |population= |direction= |subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Eight subspecies |bullets=on | ''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 & Bruce, 1989 }} }}

{{Species table/row |name= Northern rosella|binomial=Platycercus venustus |image=File:Northern Rosella 3905.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt= |authority-name=Kuhl |authority-year=1820 |authority-not-original=yes |range= Gulf of Carpentaria, through Arnhem Land to the Kimberleys in open savannah country, Australia. |range-image=File:Pvenustus.png |range-image-size=180px |size=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. |habitat= |hunting= |iucn-status= LC |population= |direction= |subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Two subspecies |bullets=on | ''Platycercus venustus hilli'', Mathews 1910 | ''Platycercus venustus venustus'', (Kuhl 1820) }} }}

{{Species table/row |name= Pale-headed rosella|binomial=Platycercus adscitus |image=File:Platycercus adscitus -Kobble Creek-8-2c.JPG|image-size=180px |image-alt= |authority-name=Latham |authority-year=1790 |authority-not-original=yes |range= Eastern Australia |range-image= |range-image-size=180px |size=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. |habitat= |hunting= |iucn-status= LC |population= |direction= |subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Two subspecies |bullets=on | ''Platycercus adscitus adscitus'', (Latham 1790) | ''Platycercus adscitus palliceps'', Lear 1832 }} }}

{{Species table/row |name= Eastern rosella|binomial=Platycercus eximius |image=File:Platycercus eximius diemenensis male.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt= |authority-name=Shaw |authority-year=1792 |authority-not-original=yes |range= 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<ref>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) [http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/science-and-technical/DSIS18.pdf PDF fulltext]</ref> |range-image=File:Platycercus eximius area.png |range-image-size=180px |size={{convert|30|cm|in|abbr=on}} 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.<ref name="Forshaw (2006). plate 56."/> |habitat= |hunting= |iucn-status= LC |population= |direction= |subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Three subspecies |bullets=on | ''Platycercus eximius diemenensis'', North 1911 | ''Platycercus eximius elecica'', Schodde & Short 1989 | ''Platycercus eximius eximius'', (Shaw 1792) }} }}

{{Species table/row |name= Western rosella|binomial=Platycercus icterotis |image=File:Western Rosella (Platycercus icterotis)-5-4c.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt= |authority-name=Temminck & Kuhl |authority-year=1820 |authority-not-original=yes |range= Southwest Australia |range-image= |range-image-size=180px |size={{convert|26|cm|in|abbr=on}} 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.<ref name="Forshaw (2006). plate 56.">{{harvnb|Forshaw|2006|loc=plate 56}}</ref> |habitat= |hunting= |iucn-status= LC |population= |direction= |subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Two subspecies |bullets=on | ''Platycercus icterotis icterotis'', (Temminck & Kuhl 1820) | ''Platycercus icterotis xanthogenys'', Salvadori 1891 }} }} {{Species table/end}}

==Description== [[File:Platycercus caledonicus -Tasmania -side-8.jpg|right|thumb|Green rosella in Tasmania. It is the largest rosella at {{convert|37|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} long]]Ranging in size from {{convert|26|–|37|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}}, rosellas are medium-sized parrots with long tails.<ref name="Forshaw (2006). plate 53."/> The feathers on their backs show an obvious scalloping appearance with colouring that differs between the species.<ref name="Forshaw (2006). plate 53."/> All species have distinctive cheek patches.<ref name="Forshaw (2006). plate 53."/> Sexual dimorphism is absent or slight – males and females generally have similar plumage, apart from the western rosella.<ref name=Lendon169>{{harvnb|Lendon|1973|p=169}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Lendon169/>

==Distribution and habitat== 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 ecology== 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.<ref name=Lendon170>{{harvnb|Lendon|1973|p=170}}</ref> Rosellas scratch their heads with the foot behind the wing.<ref name=Lendon170/>

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.<ref name=Lendon169/>

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.<ref name=Lendon169/>

==Aviculture== 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.<ref name="Alderton2003" /> 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.<ref name=Lendon170/>

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="Gray13">{{cite book|last1=Gray|first1=Jeannie|last2=Fraser|first2=Ian|title=Australian Bird Names: A Complete Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W1TCqHVWQp0C&pg=PT150|year=2013|publisher=CSIRO Publishing|location=Collingwood, Victoria | isbn=978-0-643-10471-6|page=150}}</ref> <ref name=ovenden87>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ovenden JR, Mackinlay AG, Crozie RH | year = 1987 | title = Systematics and Mitochondrial Genome Evolution of Australian rosellas (Aves: Platycercidae) | journal = Molecular Biology and Evolution | volume = 4 | issue = 5| pages = 526–543 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a040462 |url=https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/4/5/526/1039827 | doi-access = free }}</ref> <ref name = zoonomen>{{cite web | url =http://www.zoonomen.net/avtax/psit.html |title = Zoological Nomenclature Resource: Psittaciformes (Version 9.024) |date =2009-05-30|publisher = www.zoonomen.net }}</ref> <ref name="Shipham2017">{{cite journal | title=A genomic approach reinforces a hypothesis of mitochondrial capture in eastern Australian rosellas |vauthors=Shipham A, Schmidt DJ, Joseph L, Hughes JM | journal=The Auk |year=2017 | volume = 134|issue =1 | pages= 181–92 |doi=10.1642/AUK-16-31.1|hdl=10072/338495 |s2cid=89599006 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> <ref name="Shipham 2015">{{cite journal|vauthors=Shipham A, Schmidt D, Joseph L, Hughes J |date=2015|title=Phylogenetic analysis of the Australian rosella parrots (''Platycercus'') reveals discordance among molecules and plumage|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2015.05.012|volume=91|pages=150–159|pmid=26021439 |bibcode=2015MolPE..91..150S }}</ref> <ref name="Alderton2003">{{cite book |first = David| last = Alderton | author-link=David Alderton | title = The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Caged and Aviary Birds | isbn = 1-84309-164-X| publisher = Hermes House |location = London, England | year = 2003 |page= 185 |oclc=650095388}}</ref>

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==Cited texts== {{refbegin}} * {{cite book |first=Joseph M. |last=Forshaw | author-link=Joseph Forshaw |title=Parrots of the World; an Identification Guide|url=https://archive.org/details/parrotsofworldid0000fors |url-access=registration |others =Illustrated by Frank Knight|publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0-691-09251-6 | year=2006 |oclc=57893782}} *{{cite book |title=Australian Parrots in Field and Aviary |edition=2nd |last=Lendon |first=Alan H.|year=1973 |publisher=Angus and Robertson |location=Sydney |isbn=0-207-12424-8 |oclc=1139146}} {{refend}}

==External links== *{{cite web |title=''Platycercus'' Vigors, 1825 |date= |publisher=Atlas of Living Australia |url=https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https%3A//biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/82591a90-5c8f-4b5c-b308-67aaf427a4de}}

Category:Platycercus Category:Endemic birds of Australia