The Green Rosella is Not a Scottish Parrot :-)

mostly.nature (59)in #photography • 7 years ago (edited)

The Green Rosella (Platycercus caledonicus), also known as the Tasmanian Rosella, is a fairly common visitor to my backyard. This bird is endemic to Tasmania. In years gone by, they much more common (particularly around orchids) but the population has declined over the years. One suggestion as to the cause is competition for nesting sites with the introduced Starling.

Occasionally I see small flocks but it's more common to see them in pairs. In the backyard, they are usually seen feeding in the Eucalyptus trees or among the Native Cherries. In Autumn they are seen feeding on the ground, eating the seeds from daisies among the lawn.

The origin of the scientific name caledonicus used to confuse me. Caledon is the old Roman name for Scotland and the suffix, icus, changes it to an adjective – thus caledonicus would mean Scottish. It seems a strange name for a Tasmanian endemic. There are also other Australian species with the same name. For example the Nankeen Night Heron is Nycticorax caledonicus. Eventually I found the reason why.

From Wikipedia:
The Green Rosella was described by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788. The species specific epithet was derived from the mistaken belief the bird was collected from New Caledonia.

So it did not mean from Scotland but from the island of New Caledonia. Apparently the specimens were mixed up and he did not realise the Green Rosella had been collected in Tasmania (or Van Diemen's Land as it was then known).

By the way, younger birds are more green and mature birds become more yellow.

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