By Dr Al Decoteau
There are eight major species of Rosellas from various parts of Australia, and I have been extremely lucky to have raised, bred and exhibited four of these. One of my favourites, and one so colourful, is the Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans). The adult is magnificent crimson throughout with bluish wings and a purplish blue throat colour and the back of the nominate is slightly blue mottled.
When we bred our first Crimson Rosellas, we were thrilled as the chicks hatched but were astonished as they feathered out, as here we had little green parrots! This surprised us as in the early 70s, we knew very little about Crimson Rosellas, but we learned fast. As they passed their first moult, most of the green disappeared and the red started to appear.