ROSELLAS; AN AUSTRALIAN VIEWPOINT by Chris Hunt, Morwell, Victoria, Australia the tanley 0 ella rest of the rosella family, as can be Platycercus icterotz's (Kuhf) seen in distribution map - Figure 1. The subspecies Platycercus icterotis xanthogenys is commonly known as the Red-backed Stanley Rosella and, occasionally as Salvadori's Rosella, so Introduction Species named by Count A. T. Salvadori, an his species, the smallest of the The Stanley Rosella Platycercus Italian ornithologist, in 1891. In the Australian rosellas, is the only icterotis icterotis is the nominate race of wild this subspecies, which is a paler rosella found in southwestern the two [Stanley Rosella] species and is form, is found further inland (but still Western Australia. In Australia it is usu­ the one most commonly kept by avi­ only in the southwestern part of the ally known by its most popular com­ culturists in Australia. In the wild the state) through the greater part of the mon name - Western Rosella. It is nominate species exists only in the wheatbelt, which is a much drier area sometimes referred to as the Yellow­ extreme southwestern corner of than the wetter habitat inhabited by P. cheeked Rosella or Stanley Parakeet. Western Australia, well away from the i. icterotis. Stanley Rosella male ofthe Red-backed race Stanley Rosella male ofthe nominate race Platycercus icterotis xanthogenys. Platycercus icterotis icterotis. the afa WATCHBIRD 47 Identification Adelaide Rosella is found around the Nominate Race: P i. icterotis city of Adelaide and, in particular, the MALE: Head and underparts scar­ nearby Adelaide Hills (Le. Mount Lofty let red; mantle, upperparts and feath­ HINGED LID -----r-.. Ranges); The Yellow Rosella inhabits a ers black, edged with green although small area - along the Murray-Darling some birds have a mixture of dark and Murrumbidgee River systems - that green and red; cheek patches bright is many hundreds of miles long, result­ yellow the same as the chin; rump ing in it occurring in three states: South green; central tail feathers green Australia, Victoria, and New South washed with blue. Wales. The Green Rosella, which is distributed throughout Tasmania and FEMALE: The female is markedly SL IDE OUT BASE some ofthe islands ofBass Strait, is not different fro~ the male. Head feathers, - Smm FIBREBOARD found on mainland Australia. face and breast light green with faint I hope the above information con­ red and yellow markings; lower breast, veys to Watchbird readers by how far LO mm PINE CONSTRUCTION abdomen and vent duller red, suffused 20)( 20 BASE ANGLE SL IDE 1 the two Stanley Rosella species are with green; cheek patches duller yel­ separated from all the other members low compared with male. Chris Hunt's special Stanley Rosella nestbox. of the Platycercus genus. Red-backedRace: P. i. xanthogenys Purchasing Stock MALE: Head and underparts scarlet You should never be in a hurry to red; mantle, upperparts and feathers buy the first pair of birds you see. This black edged with crimson red; cheek applies to the Stanley Rosella as well as patches paler yellow with white chin, 230 2]0 the other parrots. There are birds and ~---1 r...l-------j blending into the yellow cheek patch­ o IIRDWIRE - -- :--. birds. ([;;;]J __ lADDER es; rump greyish-olive, central tail blue ------- Look at them and make sure they with no green. ENTRANCE are good sized specimens. Make sure -- -- HOlE FEMALE: Much paler in color than they are healthy and in good feather the male Red-backed form but is con- I .- ·-l.AHOtNG condition. Obtain as much information 6 .lOCK ~ as you can about the birds. Ask the fol­ siderably paler again than the female 0=__~. IT: I ... ................. lowing questions: of the nominate race. ,---I...SPECTION 600 IMMATIJRES: Young birds resemble. ~ HOlE COVER - .. - - • How old are they? the adult female in both species, but ~_ -~~J ~ • Have they ever bred? they lack the yellow cheek patches. lOOSE -1ft tttt • Are they related? n Although immature young Red-backed "';'ro: -."" • What do they eat? Stanley Rosellas resemble the female l-. ---L • Under what conditions have they of the subspecies, young males do \ -- ----i been kept? r--·- r seem to be brighter in color than SLIDE OUT BASE young females. Such information will be extremely t-HUNJ As nestlings both sexes carry two CUTAWAY important once you have your first underwing stripes, however cocks lose Chris Hunt's special Stanley Rosella nestbox. pair(s) ofStanley Rosellas at home and their wing stripes at maturity, whereas settled into their aviary. I prefer to buy hens retain both stripes. young birds and pair them up, waiting two or three years for them to breed. Rosella Distribution Distribution ofthe Rosellas My reason for this is that once the Figure 1 If you study the accompanying map birds have acquired their adult ofAustralia (Figure 1) it is clear that the plumage it is impossible to tell Northern Rosella occurs in Arnhem whether the birds are two years old or Land in the Northern Territory, from 20 years old, and you could be buying Victoria River eastwards to the Gulf of somebody else's problems, e.g. non­ Carpentaria; the Blue Rosellas (i.e, the breeders past their breeding age, muti­ Crimson Blue-cheeked and Pale-headed lators, or several other reasons why the Yellow ~~~Rosella Rosella Rosellas) are distributed from Cape owner wants to part with them. Adelaide Rosella j York Peninsula down to northeastern It is always wise to purchase unre­ New South Wales; the Crimson and lated pairs for breeding. If you visit an Eastern Rosella Eastern Rosellas range throughout aviculturist to buy birds and are told Stanley southeastern South Australia, through the ones you are interested in are Rosella southeastern Queensland, eastern unrelated, and there appears to be WGreen New South Wales and Victoria. The only one breeding pair in his/her Rosella 48 September/October 1998 have no problem escaping between releasing them into their new aviary. A you and an open aviary door. close watch on your birds during this Another reason why the aviaries time is vital as signs of stress, worms, housing my Westerns are only 10 feet and other diseases can be detected long is that this species is a fast flyer and treated quickly. and has less chance of injuring or . On the day the new birds are to be killing itself if it takes fright than it released into their breeding aviary it is would in a longer aviary. In my opin­ advisable to do it early in the morning ion the smallest enclosure for housing as this allows the birds all day to a pair of Western Rosellas would be 6 explore their new home, fmding seed feet 7 inches long x 2 feet 7 inches and water, and roosting places etc. Try wide x 6 feet 7 inches high. not to spend time near the aviary on The wire mesh I use in the con­ the first day, allowing them time to set­ struction ofthese aviaries is 1/2 X 1 inch. tle in. If you must watch, do so from a The floors are concrete which I con­ distance. sider healthier for the birds and, as this Most importantly, make sure the rosella likes to spend a lot of time for­ day you release them is a warm sunny aging on the floor, it assists in control­ day, because they may have been ling the problem of intestinal worms. quarantined inside, away from the ele­ Also vermin find it difficult to dig ments, for quite some time. through a concrete floor and it is much I believe observation is one of the easier to sweep or hose down. A two­ most important rules of aviculture. inch layer of clean washed river sand Today most aviaries are set up to sup­ may be laid out on the top of the con­ ply enough food and water to last a crete to allow the birds to scratch and week or more, however, it is a wise forage on the aviary floor. practice to observe your birds at least Because Stanley Rosellas spend a twice a day, early in the morning and lot of time on the ground, I don't rec­ once again before dark. This will alert Interior ofStanley Rosella aviaryfacing ommend suspended aviaries, howev­ you before it is too late to any bird that the front. er, this doesn't mean they cannot be may have a problem. aviaries, think twice before purchasing kept or bred in this type of aviary. Cleanliness plays a big part in man­ them as being "unrelated" birds. aging aviary birds and keeping them Management disease-free. I clean my aviaries on a Housing Once you have purchased your regular basis, disinfecting seed and Ofthe eight races in the rosella fam­ Western Rosellas they should not be water containers, and removing old ily, the Western Rosella is the smallest released straight into their (permanent) seed regularly. Soaked seed and water and definitely the least aggressive. It aviary as all new arrivals should be are changed daily. During the breed­ can be housed with other birds in a quarantined. Most aviculturists quaran­ ing season these practices are contin­ mixed collection, however, I don't rec­ tine their birds for 45 days before ued on an even more regular basis. ommend this, preferring to house my pairs separately as individual pairs in aviaries measuring 10 feet long x 4 feet wide x 6 feet 7 inches high. My aviaries are constructed of steel and because I live in southern Victoria, where our weather is often unpre­ dictable, they are fully roofed except for two feet of open wire at the front, which allows the birds some access to sunshine and rain.