Here is a crimson rosella eating some seeds

One of the most beautiful species of parrot that I have ever seen in the wild is the crimson rosella.

Here are five interesting facts about them:

1. These beautiful and noisy birds grow up to about 35 cm long.
2. Whilst they are well known for their bright red feathers, there is a bright yellow subspecies and another subspecies that lives in Adelaide that is more of a yellow to dark orange colour.
3. Crimson rosellas eat seeds from a range of trees, shrubs and grasses as well as tree blossoms and insects.
4. They breed in tree hollows that are lined with wood shavings.  The female lays between 4-8 eggs and both the male and female look after the young.  They compete for the best nesting spots and will often destroy the eggs of other pairs so that they can take over their nests.  Young crimson rosellas start off with green feathers and become more red as they get older.
5. Crimson rosellas are very common and can be found in forests throughout eastern and southern Australia.

I hope that you found these facts interesting and learned something new.

Are there any other interesting facts that you would like to share about crimson rosellas?

Similar species:

Rainbow Lorikeet