Crimson Rosella

Danenong Range Botanic Garden, Victoria

The crimson rosella is a parrot with a restricted range from Tasmania through eastern South Australia,  Victoria and  New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland. There is also a separate population in North Queensland.

Habitat

The Crimson rosella is a common resident in forest regions from the coast to the mountains. An arboreal species, they prefer older and wetter forests although they flourish in a range of climactic conditions from tropical to temperate.  They have also adapted to human occupation and are found in parks, gardens and farmland wherever there are trees.

Feeding

Crimson rosellas forage in trees, bushes, and on the ground for the fruit, seeds, nectar, berries, and the nuts from a wide variety of plants. They also eat insects and their larvae.

Breeding

Crimson rosellas nest in hollows in tree trunks or branches up to 39 metres above the ground.  The nest is lined with wood chippings that the rosellas gnaw from the lining of the hollow.  The female incubates three to eight glossy, white eggs. The female feeds the chicks for the first few days while the male wards off intruders. He later joins the female in raising the chicks.

Wildfile Specials

• Females often destroy the eggs of other nesting rosellas in order to reduce competition for nesting hollows. 
• Breeding between subspecies of the crimson rosella produces birds that are more disease resistant in a genetic combination called "heterosis".
• The diet of the crimson rosella often results in damage to  fruit and grain harvests. In the past, farmers have shot rosellas in large numbers.
• Despite feeding on fruits and seeds, rosellas are not  seed-spreaders.  They crush and destroy the seeds with their powerful beaks before digesting them.