Western Rosella

Platycercus icterotis

Content

25 to 26 cm. length and a weight between 52 and 80 g..

The Western Rosella (Platycercus icterotis) is the smallest of the Platycercus and the only one with big cheeks Yellow.

Adults have a clear dimorphism. The adult male has head and underparts bright red. The the mantle feathers, the back and scapulars They are black with large green edges forming a scalloped effect. The green edges sometimes infiltrated with red. The inner coverts They are dull green, While the external are dark blue. In the Middle, you can see some black on median. The primaries son negruzcas. The rump is dark green. The central tail feathers are dark green, the exteriors are blue with white tips. The underparts It has no stripe.
The bill grey; irises dark brown; legs greyish brown.

The adult female has the forecrown dark red. The crown and the sides of the neck are green. The cheeks are yellow, but duller and less developed than in the male. The underparts They are green with red infiltrations. The under wing wearing a light streak.

The immature are similar to the females. They have head green with a strip of orange red on the front of the forecrown. The cheeks Yellow absent. The underparts is pale green with slight red orange infiltration in young men.
The adult plumage It is reached after a quick complete change to 14 months.

• Sound of the Western Rosella.

• Platycercus icterotis icterotis

  (Temminck & Kuhl 1820) – The nominal.




• Platycercus icterotis xanthogenys

  (Salvadori 1891) – The cheeks They are paler; black feathers nape; back and shoulders lined with large red brown. Area of the rump and uppertail-coverts, Olive Drab. Female much paler than the nominal.

The Western Rosella they are not very common. Found in variable densities in stands of eucalyptus and in many types of open forest habitats. They also attend camps with little trees, partly cleared agricultural fields and residual trees lining grain fields or roadsides. They tend to visit the gardens and freshly harvested fields. They occasionally enter the parks, gardens and golf courses.

In areas close to the coast, the Western Rosella, without a doubt, have benefited from the transformation of dense forests into agricultural land. On the other hand, they were driven from the hinterlands by large-scale deforestation programs.

The Western Rosella they suffer the aggressive competition Australian Ringneck (Platycercus zonarius) that shares the same habitat type.

They are birds sedentary. Usually, they live in pairs or in small groups, and it is very rare to find them in flocks. Son quiet and discrete, so very often go unnoticed when they feed in Earth or when they seek refuge in the trees.

Around the houses, the Western Rosella they are very confident, coming into barns and corrals to feed on grain. Unlike other parrots, have a stable flight composed of multiple hits. Move over short distances, preferring to fly from one tree to another, instead of crossing open spaces.

The nesting season running from August to December.

The nest It is found in the hole of a branch or in the cavity of a tree trunk.. The couple often choose a eucalyptus wandoo the genus eucalyptus salmonophloia. The cavity must be deep enough and the bottom must be lined with a layer of sawdust..

Before mating, the male courts to your partner. It leans forward on its perch uttering very specific cries.. If the female agrees, responds in the same way.

The laying, generally, comprises of 3 to 7 eggs which are incubated during 19 days. The female is responsible for one incubation, but she pauses in the morning and in the afternoon to be resupplied by the male.

The Young people are altricial and do not fly away before reaching the age of 5 weeks.

They mainly eat seeds of grasses and other plants found in stubble fields.. They also feed on fruits, berries, Jarrah flowers (Eucalyptus marginata) and seeds of the Zamia Palm.

Often in orchards where cause some damage.

Size of its range (reproduction / resident): 308.000 km2

Endemic to Western Australia, where its population is distributed between the vicinity of Dongara, in the North and Israelite Bay, on the South Coast, and reaching the interior in a line that goes more or less through the Lake Dundas, Southern Cross and Moora. Sometimes found in parks in Perth.

The species is common and seems to have benefited from forest clearing and agriculture.. The world's population is of more than 100,000 specimens. A small number of captivity. The birds can be pursued under a permit.

• Platycercus icterotis icterotis

  (Temminck & Kuhl 1820) – The nominal. Coast and Southwest podrebere Australia.




• Platycercus icterotis xanthogenys

  (Salvadori 1891) – Southwest Interior Australia.

• Current category of the Red List of the UICN: Least concern

• Population Trend: Decreasing

The species is relatively common, like most birds that live in open areas, the Western Rosella It has benefited, to some extent, the slimming of the wooded areas. But, its numbers have declined in areas where it faces competition from the aggressive Australian Ringneck. It also, the difficulty to find holes for the construction of nests is a concern in the long run.

The Western Rosella is one protected species, However in some counties, a period was opened to try to regulate or stop the damage caused by this bird in crops.

Pretty common in captivity.

Una muestra vivió 13,2 years in captivity. Taking into account the longevity of the similar species, the maximum longevity in these birds could be underestimated. In fact it has been reported that these birds can live up to 31,6 years in captivity, data that can be, but it has not been verified; the same study reported that these animals can reproduce, approximately, to the 2 years of age in captivity.

– Western Rosella, Earl of Derby’s Parrot, Stanley Parakeet, Stanley Rosella, West Australian Rosella, Yellow-cheeked Parakeet, Yellow-cheeked Parrot, Yellow-cheeked Rosella (ingles).
– Perruche à oreilles jaunes, Perruche de Stanley (French).
– Gelbwangenrosella (German).
– Rosela-do-leste (Portuguese).
– Perico Carigualdo, Rosela Oriental (español).

– Order: Psittaciformes
– Family: Psittaculidae
– Genus: Platycercus
– Scientific name: Platycercus icterotis
– Citation: (Temminck & Kuhl, 1820)
– Protonimo: Psittacus icterotis

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“Western Rosella” (Platycercus icterotis)

Sources:

– Sounds: John Graff (Xeno-canto)