Pale-headed Rosella - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by Muscatclark
Queensland, Australia, 2007

Platycercus adscitus

Identification

30 cm (11¾ in)

• Pale yellow head
• Blue and yellow wings
• Yellow underbelly
• Red undertail
  

Female similar but duller

Distribution

Juvenile (red markings on his head)
Photo © by cliffandrew
Walligan, Queensland, Australia, November 2008

Eastern seaboard of Australia

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 2 subspecies^[1]:

• P. a. adscitus:

• Eastern Australia (extreme northern Cape York Peninsula south to Cairns)

• P. a. palliceps:

• Northern Queensland south of Mitchell River to northern New South Wales

Some authors recognise two subspecies of P.a. palliceps: P.a. amathusia and P.a. mackaiensis^[2]

Habitat

Female
Photo © by cliffandrew
Walligan, Queensland, Australia, March 2007

Open forests, farmland, parks and gardens. Eucalypt woodland.

Behaviour

Although it comes to feeders, it does not tolerate the presences of humans.

Diet

Diet includes seeds and fruits of grasses, thistles, shrubs and trees, as well as flowers, insects and their larvae.

Breeding

Nests are made in tree hollows, usually in eucalypts, hollow stumps or posts. Only the female incubates, though a few days after hatching the male helps with feeding the young.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Birds In Backyards
4. The Website of Everything
5. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Pale-headed Rosella. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 1 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Pale-headed_Rosella

External Links

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