Crimson Rosella vs Pale-headed Rosella

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: Saira Manns · CC BY 4.0

Pale-headed Rosella

Platycercus adscitus

Medium111 gWoodland

The pale-headed rosella is 33 cm (13 in) long, which includes the 15 cm length of its tail. Its underparts are pale blue, and upper breast and head are pale cream-yellow, the tail which is blue-black and green and the vent which is blood red. The feathers of the nape, scapulars and back are black edged with bright yellow, giving rise to a scalloped appearance. In these margins of the northern race, the yellow is paler with a pale blue tinge. The cheeks are wholly white in the southern subspecies, and partly flushed with blue in the lowerparts in the northern subspecies.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Martin Hannan-Jones · CC BY 4.0

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