Pale-headed Rosella

Description:

The second day of Spring and a pair of Pale-headed Rosellas arrived, right on cue, and once again it was their chatter which alerted me to their presence. I don't recall seeing any for at least a couple of years. This is a broad-tailed parrot of the genus Platycercus, and is native to northeastern Australia. It is a moderate-size parrot with a pale yellow head, predominantly white cheeks, scalloped black and gold back and pale blue underparts. There are two subspecies, the better known palliceps (eastern Queensland), also known as the Blue-cheeked Rosella, and adscitus (Cape York Peninsula). Its closest relative is the Eastern Rosella, which replaces it in southeastern Australia. They are very pretty birds.

Habitat:

Found in open woodland, it feeds on seeds and fruit, and nests in hollows of large trees. This spotting, however, was in a suburban backyard in Brisbane. The birds were originally in the trees, but one flew down later to ground level to feed on clover (Trifolium repens).