Eastern Rosella

Eastern Rosellas are medium-sized colourful parrots with distinctive white cheek patches. It has a red head, neck and breast, with yellowish to greenish upper parts, a yellow underbody and a yellow-green to blue-green rump, with a red undertail. The shoulders are bright blue. Females are usually similar to males, but sometimes duller and young birds are even duller and can be aged by their bill colour, which is yellow or orange, changing to off-white when mature.

Despite this bold coloration, when rosellas are feeding on the ground among the grass or perched among the foliage in the treetops they can be very difficult to see, often seeming to disappear completely into the background. Despite their bright colours, their plumage is patterned so that it creates an extremely effective camouflage which assists the birds in avoiding detection by potential predators.

Habitat: The Eastern Rosella is found in open woodlands, grasslands, farmlands and remnant bushland. Often found in urban habitats such as parks, gardens and golf courses.

Crimson Rosella

There are several colour forms of the Crimson Rosella. The form it is named for 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. Birds from northern Queensland are generally smaller and darker than southern birds. The ‘Yellow Rosella’ has the crimson areas replaced with light yellow and the tail more greenish. The ‘Adelaide Rosella’ is intermediate in colour, ranging from yellow with a reddish wash to dark orange. Otherwise, all the forms are similar in pattern. Young Crimson Rosellas have the characteristic blue cheeks, but the remainder of the body plumage is green-olive to yellowish olive (occasionally red in some areas). The young bird gradually attains the adult plumage over a period of 15 months.

Habitat: Throughout its range, the Crimson Rosella is commonly associated with tall eucalypt and wetter forests.

 

Crested Pigeon

The Crested Pigeon is a stocky pigeon with a conspicuous thin black crest. Most of the plumage is grey-brown, becoming more pink on the underparts. The wings are barred with black, and are decorated with glossy green and purple patches. The head is grey, with an pinkish-red ring around the eye. If startled, this pigeon takes to the air with a characteristic whistling flight, and glides with down turned wings. The whistling sound is produced by the air passing over a modified primary feather on the wing. Upon landing, the pigeon swings its tail high in the air.

Habitat: The Crested Pigeon is found in lightly wooded grasslands in both rural and urban areas. It is usually found in the vicinity of water, as it has to drink every day, and is absent from the denser forests.

Common Bronzewing

Common Bronzewings are medium-sized, heavily built pigeons. The male has a yellow-white forehead and pink breast. Both sexes have a clear white line below and around the eye and patches of green, blue and red in the wing, characteristic of all bronzewings. The Common Bronzewing is a cautious pigeon, and rarely allows close approach. If startled, it flies away with a clatter, keeping low to the ground while moving in a steady, direct manner. Young Common Bronzewings are duller and browner than the adults. The metallic wing patch is absent or not easily seen.

Habitat: Common Bronzewings are found in almost every habitat type, with the exception of the most barren areas and densest rainforests. Common Bronzewings are normally seen alone, in pairs or in small flocks, and are rarely found far from water.

Galah

The Galah can be easily identified by its rose-pink head, neck and underparts, with paler pink crown, and grey back, wings and undertail. Birds from the west of Australia have comparatively paler plumage. Galahs have a bouncing acrobatic flight, but spend much of the day sheltering from heat in the foliage of trees and shrubs. Huge noisy flocks of birds congregate and roost together at night.

Habitat: The Galah is found in large flocks in a variety of timbered habitats, usually near water.

Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo

The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo is a large white parrot. It has a dark grey-black bill, a distinctive sulphur-yellow crest and a yellow wash on the underside of the wings. Sexes are similar, although the female can be separated at close range by its red-brown eye (darker brown in the male). This is a noisy and conspicuous cockatoo, both at rest and in flight. Young Sulphur-crested Cockatoos resemble the adults.

Habitat: Sulphur-crested Cockatoos are found in a variety of timbered habitats and are common around human settlements. The birds stay in the same area all year round.

Red-Rumped Parrot

Red-rumped Parrots are medium-sized, slender parrots. The adult male is bright green, with a blue-green head, a red rump, and yellow shoulders and belly. The female is a duller, olive-green, with a green rump and faint yellow or light green scales on the belly. Young birds of both sexes are duller in colour.

Habitat: The Red-rumped Parrot is found in open grasslands or lightly timbered plains, as well as along watercourses and in mallee farmlands with access to water.