Known for their happy noisy chatter or loud, in-flight alarm call
Identification
Have bright red heads
With white cheek patches
Red extends down onto the chest giving way to a yellow belly
Their upper back is yellow to green, with black patches
The rump is bright green, often observed when they are flying away
The upper wings are dark blue with bright blue shoulders
They have long tails, almost equal in length to the rest of their body
Tail Feathers are dark green becoming light blue toward the outside
Males are typically brighter in colour than females
The adult females, have a white bar on the underside of the wing, which may be seen in flight
Rosella can have up to 25 different calls
Most frequently heard are “pee-ping” contact calls like the bellbird
In-flight their alarm call – a metallic “pink pink pink pink”
The noisy parroty chatter is the most common
Breeding
A busy loud friendly bird
The interactions between pairs in the breeding season are usually noisy and aggressive
The birds chattering at and chasing each other, and performing the “tail-wagging” display
In winter, pairs and juveniles form loose flocks of 8–20 individuals
Flocks forage together on open ground
Rosellas are a very wary bird, particularly of people, and will take flight quickly if disturbed, flying swiftly with characteristic undulating flight
Food
Seeds are a major component of the diet
They also consume fruit, nectar, shoots, buds, leaves, and invertebrates
They feed on the seeds of many native plants including flax, totara, and Pohutukawa, and on the nectar from Puriri flowers – destroying the flower in the process
They often feed on the ground, but will also feed in trees
Birds forage alone or in pairs in the breeding season, and in small flocks in the winter
