Rosella
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the ship, see M/S Rosella.
- For the brachiopod genus, see Rosella (brachiopod).
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 Adult Crimson Rosella
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See article text for an alternate arrangement |
A rosella is one of 5-8 species of colorful Australian parrots in the genus Platycercus. Platycercus means "broad-" or "flat-tailed", reflecting a feature common to the rosellas and other members of the broad-tailed parrot tribe.
Rosellas are native to Australia and some nearby islands, where they inhabit forests, woodlands, farmlands, and suburban parks and gardens. They are confined to the coastal mountains and plains and are absent from the outback. Introduced populations have also established themselves in New Zealand and Norfolk Island.
Rosellas range in size from 25-38 cm (9.8-15 in). Their diet consists mainly of seeds and fruit.
Because of their strikingly colorful plumage, several species are widely kept as pets.
Legend[citation needed] has it that early settlers first encountered the Eastern Rosella at Rose Hill, now a Sydney suburb. They called it a "Rose Hiller", which eventually became "rosella".
There is also a second story[citation needed] that the name is derived from 'Rosetta', the first name of the wife of George Fife Angas, a settler in Australia, but he forgot to cross his T's (leaving them appearing as lowercase L's), hence "rosella".
[edit] References
- Ovenden, J. R.; Mackinlay, A. G. & Crozie, R. H. (1987): Systematics and Mitochondrial Genome Evolution of Australian Rosellas (Aves: Platycercidae). Molecular Biology and Evolution 4(5): 526-543. PDF fulltext
