Saucy Eastern Rosellas

Saucy Eastern Rosellas
These resident, colourful parrots are a familiar sight on our property and are regular visitors to all our ponds and dams. They are well known as part of the logo of one of Australia’s big tomato sauce companies.
These lovely colourful birds brighten up any view when they visit.
Eastern Rosellas are often part of a community dominated by common resilient birds such as Noisy Miners, Red Wattlebird, Magpies, Grey Butcherbirds and Crested Pigeons. This video shows Eastern Rosellas at the pond in our old exclusion area. It starts with the Rosellas holding their own with Red Wattlebirds and Noisy Miners.
Next you see Eastern Rosellas bathing and feeding their young. This is followed by a bigger group of Rosellas drinking and bathing. The video finishes with 2 or 3 of these beautiful birds having a big ‘cool off’ in the hot summer weather.
In summer 2015 the maximum number of Eastern Rosellas at the old exclusion pond was 5 and this increased to 10 in the summer of 2016.
We usually see pairs or small parties of 3 to 8 Eastern Rosellas, they mainly feed on the ground, taking seeds of native and introduced grasses, herbs and weeds.
Eastern Rosellas also feed from shrubs and trees, such as Eucalypts and Wattles, taking seed capsules, flowers and insect larvae.
Rosellas nest in hollows and readily use nest boxes if protected from aggressive birds like Common Starlings and Common Mynas (luckily we do not have these pests).