Northern rosella
| Northern rosella | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Psittaciformes |
| Family: | Psittaculidae |
| Genus: | Platycercus |
| Species: | P. venustus |
| Binomial name | |
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Platycercus venustus (Kuhl, 1820) |
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| Range (in green) in Australia | |
The northern rosella (Platycercus venustus), formerly known as Brown's rosella or smutty rosella, is a species of parrot native to northern Australia, ranging from the Gulf of Carpentaria and Arnhem Land to the Kimberley. It was described by Heinrich Kuhl in 1820, and two subspecies are recognised. This species is unusually coloured for a rosella, with a dark head and neck with pale cheeks—predominantly white in the Northern Territory subspecies and blue in the Western Australian subspecies hillii. The northern rosella's mantle and scapulars are black with fine yellow scallops, while its back, rump and underparts are pale yellow with fine black scallops. The long tail is blue green and the wings are blue-violet and black. The sexes have similar plumage, while females and younger birds are generally duller with occasional spots of red.
Found in woodland and open savannah country, the northern rosella is predominantly herbivorous, consuming seeds, particularly of grasses and eucalypts, as well as flowers and berries, but may also eat insects. Nesting takes place in tree hollows. Although uncommon, the northern rosella is rated as least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List of Endangered species.
The northern rosella was first described as Psittacus venustus by German naturalist Heinrich Kuhl in 1820. The description was based on an illustration by Ferdinand Bauer from a specimen collected by Robert Brown in February 1803, during Matthew Flinders' voyage around the Australian coastline. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin venustus "charming, lovely or graceful". Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck published the name Psittacus brownii, in honour of Brown, in 1821, and Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors transferred it (as P. brownii) to the genus Platycercus in 1827, describing it as the "most beautiful of the family". However, John Gould wrote in his 1865 work Handbook to the Birds of Australia, "Hitherto this bird has been known to ornithologists as Platycercus brownii, a specific appellation in honour of the celebrated botanist; but which, I regret to say, must give place to the prior one of venustus."
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Wikipedia