Hihi volunteer needed
Date posted: 18-Oct-2018
Would you like to volunteer with the Island's hihi team and learn from them how ..
2019 Calendars now available
Date posted: 05-Sep-2018
The new 2019 calendars are now available and this year's is better than ever! Th..
Winners of kokako photo competition
Date posted: 02-Sep-2018
The stunning winning photographs from those submitted to the competition as part..
Kokako Celebration
Date posted: 21-Jul-2018
(https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-great-kokako-story-celebrating-21-years-..
Kokako Photographic Competition
Date posted: 20-Jul-2018
KÅKAKO PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION
Celebrating 21 years on Tiritiri Matangi
To ce..
New monitoring reports published
Date posted: 19-Jul-2018
Reports on monitoring studies carried out over the past year have now been poste..
2018 Concert coming up soon
Date posted: 15-Feb-2018
Our 2018 concert will feature an afternoon of light classics and jazz courtesy of the Auckland Ph..
Wetapunga talk coming soon
Date posted: 05-Feb-2018
For the Social on 19 March the speaker will be Ben Goodwin of Auckland Zoo, who will talk about t..
Rat caught and now takahe released from pens
Date posted: 28-Jan-2018
Thankfully DOC staff Andre de Graaf and Polly Hall and their assistants have trapped the rat whic..
Your Christmas Shopping for a Song
Date posted: 04-Dec-2017
Aka - The Grand Christmas Shopping Expedition to Tiritiri Matangi Island Shop
Dreading..
Eastern Rosella
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Scientific name: |
Platycercus eximius |
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Conservation status: |
Introduced and naturalised |
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Mainland status: |
Locally common in North Island. Small numbers in South Island |
| Size: | 32cm, 110g |
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Lifespan: |
Unknown |
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Breeding: |
October-January |
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Diet: |
Invertebrates, larvae, sandhoppers, and also some seeds |
This brightly coloured long-tailed parrot was introduced to New Zealand from Australia and is usually seen in pairs or small groups.
The head, upper breast and undertail is scarlet and the cheeks and beak are white; the back and underparts are yellowish green, mottled black on the back; the wings are blue and the tail is dark bluish green edged pale blue. They have a wide range of calls, the most often heard being a high melodic 'ping'. They also chatter when feeding and in flight.
Eastern rosellas eat a wide range of seeds, fruits, flowers, buds and shoots and occasional insects.
Breeding is between October and January. They usually nest in cavities in trees or dead tree fern trunks, laying 4–6 white eggs which the female incubates for 22–24 days. The chicks fledge at around 30 days and remain with their parents for several months.
They are often present in small but fluctuating numbers on Tiritiri Matangi.
Find out more about the eastern rosella at New Zealand Birds Online.
Photography by: Dr Kerry Rodgers ©
References: Heather, B.D.; Robertson, H.A. 2000 The Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand. Auckland, Viking.