Bird Guide

Crimson Rosella vs Eastern Rosella

Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans)

Crimson Rosella

Platycercus elegans

Medium124 gForest

Platycercus elegans is a medium-sized Australian parrot at 36 cm (14 in) long, much of which is tail. There are seven subspecies, three of which are actually crimson. The red is replaced by yellow in the case of var. flaveolus and a mixture of red, orange and yellow in the Adelaide rosella. Adults and juveniles generally show strikingly different colouration in south-eastern populations, with predominantly greenish-olive body plumage on the juvenile, most persistent on the nape and breast. Juveniles are said to 'ripen' as they get older and turn from green to red.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Lyle Radford https://www.lyleradford.com.au · CC BY 2.0
Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius)

Eastern Rosella

Platycercus eximius

Medium104 gWoodland

The length of eastern rosella is 30 cm (12 in). Its cheeks are white, and it has a red-coloured head. The beak is white, and the irises are brown. Its upper breast is red, and its lower breast is yellow and fades to pale green over the abdomen. The black feathers on the back and shoulders have yellowish and greenish margins which gives the scalloped look that differs between the sexes and subspecies. The wings and lateral tail feathers are bluish, the tail is dark green, and the legs are grey.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0

Where you might meet both

Learn this pair in BeakBrain

Photo and call practice, free in any browser.

Play BeakBrain

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Crimson Rosella and Eastern Rosella.