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Eastern Rosella

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Eastern Rosella

Postby oknuma » Tue Feb 16, 2010 9:17 pm

I hope i am not being too presumptuous but thought I would post up some information about the Eastern Rosella. If interested I will also pop up some info on the other Rosella's as well but obviously best to start with what I personally know LOL

Scientific name: Platycercus eximius eximius
Sub species: (Eastern Rosella = Platycercus eximius eximius. Tasmanian Eastern Rosella = P. e. diemenensis. Golden mantled Rosella = P. e. cecilae.)
Lifespan (estimate): approx. 15 or more years
Nesting months: August to February
Breeding: Clutch/s per year 1, sometimes 2. Eggs per nest 4 - 7. Incubation approx. 20 days. Fledge approx. 5 weeks. Independent approx. another 2 - 3 weeks, sometimes up to 4 weeks. Generally prolific breeders.
Temperament: The Eastern Rosella will usually breed well in captivity and is probably the most popular of the Rosellas. Can be an aggressive bird and best housed one pair per flight. Individual birds are popular when kept as pets or companion birds.

In NZ : The eastern rosella was imported to New Zealand in 1910 when customs refused entry to a small shipment and the birds were released off Otago Heads from the ship that brought them.

Other populations became established around Auckland (where i live) in the 1920s and Wellington in the 1960s and are now the most common and widespread parakeet throughout the North Island of New Zealand.

Unfortunately the Eastern Rosella gets quite the bad rap in NZ as it is native to Australia. It is a cavity nesters and nests earlier than our own native species. It is blamed for the decline of the native Kakariki however there is much arguement as to whether this is true or not.

In the wild: Eastern Rosellas spend a lot of time on the ground foraging for foods. This habit of ground feeding appears to be more pronounced in the Eastern Rosella than the other Rosellas.

Because of their preference to feed on the ground in the wild, these birds consume a larger proportion of their foods as seeds or grains from grasses and herbs than the other types of Rosellas. An example of this is Batmans cage set up, her food dish is right down the bottom so that batman can stand on the newspaper covered grate to get to her food, she will often carry items higher to nibble at but she wont have a meal anywhere off ground level.

The Eastern Rosella likes to nibble on seeding grasses and greens, their basic diet includes a quality Budgie mix or Canary mix with added sunflower and safflower seed. A variety of fruits and vegetables should also make up a good portion of their diet. Leafy green vegetables, fresh eucalypt branches and other suitable fresh branches can be offered and any fruits or berries.

Due to the fact that they are ground feeders they seem to have a higher likelihood of needing treatment for internal parasites. In spite of this the Rosella is considered a very hardy bird.

From a personal viewpoint Rosellas are very agressive. If an owner is not prepared to devote time daily to their Rosella then they will find their bird will revert back to close to a wild state in a matter of days. It is very rare to have a Rosella who talks however they are very quick at picking up tunes and can often whistle full songs. An Eastern Rosella is not a bird to be petted on but it loves human company and just wants to be near you on its own terms. They love to chew and need to be kept occupied with varying toys. Batman loves her foot toys the most and can spend hours trying to figure out a new puzzle as well.

Finally here are some pics of the wild Rosellas who visit our balcony daily to call on Batman, we have had this flock in our lounge room as well which was quite scary for all involved at the time ( we no longer sleep with our doors open on summer nigths LOL )

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a pic of batmans cage (you can see the blue feeder down the bottom )
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~~Oknuma - mum to two human kids, 1 feathered kid and one furry kid~~
oknuma
Cockatiel
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 87
Location: New Zealand
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Currently Eastern Rosella - Batman
Flight: Yes

Re: Eastern Rosella

Postby MandyG » Wed Feb 17, 2010 9:59 am

Thanks for posting this! I only recently heard of Rosellas and was interested in learning more about these beautiful birds.

I just had a couple of questions:

You said that the life span is 15+ years, what is the average life span? What is the oldest known captive and wild Rosella?

How does one come to own a Rosella when they're wild in your area? Do people breed them? What are the laws on catching a wild bird? We don't have any wild parrots in our area, I just can't imagine having a flock of such beautiful birds in my back yard.
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MandyG
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Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 946
Location: Manitoba, Canada
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Types of Birds Owned: Yellow Crowned Amazon
Flight: Yes

Re: Eastern Rosella

Postby oknuma » Wed Feb 17, 2010 3:03 pm

You are more than welcome :D
You might find me completely useless now but I will see i can answer LOL


You said that the life span is 15+ years, what is the average life span? What is the oldest known captive and wild Rosella?

this one is tricky simply because i knew very little about the eastern rosella until batman came into our lives. I had seen them as wild birds in Australia but didnt even know they were in my own country here in nz! how is that for ignorance? Of course since batman came along I see and hear them all the time now LOL. From all the reading I have done online average lifespan is 15 - 20 years and i have heard about one in captivity living up to 30

How does one come to own a Rosella when they're wild in your area?
i am not sure how batman came to be owned by her previous owner as she was pretty much a heartless cow who I will not converse with further... I didnt go much into it in intro post but she was a vet tech ( :roll: ) who had taken batman in, kept her in a flimsly broken outdoor cage and knew her cats could get in. she knew her cat had torn batmans rear end and watched her hop away to die in a paddock!.
yes people do breed them in both oz and nz and I know tht they are very popular with breeders in the UK as well.
What are the laws on catching a wild bird?
laws in catching native species are very very strict but when it comes to the too's, lorikeets and rosellas they are blamed for damaging our native species and so are trapped and either destroyed by our department of conservation ( :roll: again ) or trapped and put into aviaries. When buying a rosella here or in australia you must be very careful as they are known carriers of PBFD ( Batman has been tested though and is clear.)
We don't have any wild parrots in our area, I just can't imagine having a flock of such beautiful birds in my back yard.
we are certainly very lucky. we not only see the rosellas and wild lorikeets ( and the odd cockatoo flock ) but we have a lot of our own native species such as the Tui bird

Thanks for posting this! I only recently heard of Rosellas and was interested in learning more about these beautiful birds.
if there is anything else you want to know I am more than happy to help. I love my batman and love nothing more than clearing the air about rosella's in this country and elsewhere
~~Oknuma - mum to two human kids, 1 feathered kid and one furry kid~~
oknuma
Cockatiel
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 87
Location: New Zealand
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Currently Eastern Rosella - Batman
Flight: Yes

Re: Eastern Rosella

Postby bmsweb » Wed Feb 17, 2010 3:16 pm

Our next door neighbor has planted native trees in his garden that attract Rosella's along with a number of other native birds. So we get them next door all the time. Both our budgie and Cockatiel go crazy when they hear them. I'm not sure why they react this way but they do.

I never knew you guys had them in NZ! Then again I'm only ever in NZ for the fly fishing :) and don't notice much of anything else.

I love their colors!
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bmsweb
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Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 508
Location: Australia
Number of Birds Owned: 4
Types of Birds Owned: Cockatiel, Green Cheek Conures
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Re: Eastern Rosella

Postby oknuma » Wed Feb 17, 2010 6:37 pm

Their calls are amazing and can be quite high pitched. It could be why your flock get all excited. Batman calls out to them every morning and they come for quite some time during the day. Often times most of them fly off but one remains. We have called him Romeo LOL
~~Oknuma - mum to two human kids, 1 feathered kid and one furry kid~~
oknuma
Cockatiel
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 87
Location: New Zealand
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Currently Eastern Rosella - Batman
Flight: Yes


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