Green rosella

Green rosella

The green rosella is a species of parrot native to Tasmania and Bass Strait islands. Two subspecies are recognised, with the King Island subspecies classed as vulnerable. The species is rated as least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Endangered species. It is predominantly herbivorous, consuming seeds, berries, nuts and fruit.

About Green rosella in brief

Summary Green rosellaThe green rosella 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. Two subspecies are recognised, with the King Island subspecies classed as vulnerable. The species is rated as least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Endangered species. It is predominantly herbivorous, consuming seeds, berries, nuts and fruit, as well as flowers, but may also eat insect larvae and insects such as psyllids. Nesting takes place in tree hollows. The sexes have similar plumage, except the female has duller yellow plumage and more prominent red markings, aswell as a smaller beak. The back is mostly black and green, and its long tail blue and green. The male has a red band above the beak and violet-blue cheeks. The female has a yellow head, neck and head, and a green head and neck with a black and blue tail. The males have a yellow neck, head and green tail, and the females have a red head, green and blue cheeks and a duller red head and yellow tail. A specimen was collected in Adventure Bay, Tasmania, by ships’ surgeon William Anderson on the third voyage of James Cook between 26 and 30 January 1777.

The specimen, along with many others, ended up in the collection of British naturalist Sir Joseph Banks. English naturalist John Latham saw it there and wrote about it in his 1780s work A General Synopsis of Birds. In 1825, Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors established the genus Platycercus based on the distinctive architecture of the feathers in the tail and wing, including P. flavigaster and P. brownii within it. In 1915, amateur ornithologist Gregory Mathews noted that the name PlatYcercus flaviventris was commonly used in the 19th century, but highlighted the name P. caledonicus criettae in 1915. This has since been reclassified as a synonym of P. crispus. P.  caledus crispeus is now known as P.Caledus caledonus crieptus. The green rosellinga is the largest species of the rosell a genus, Platycerscus. It can grow up to 37cm long and is found in a wide range of habitats with some form of tree cover. It has been described as a ‘common and widespread parrot’ on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species of Predator and Threatened Animals and is rated at least least concern on the Red List of Endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.