Can anyone help with identification of this bird? Immature pale headed rosella? Hybrid pale headed / eastern? Or something much more obvious?
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where did you get the pic? because if it was in Geelong it is unlikely to be a Pale-headed Rosella
looks like a colour mutation of either Pale-headed or Eastern Rosella dependent on your location
I got the below pics at Coraki, NSW in 1/11 and therefore assume that it is an Eastern Rosella colour mutation
Peter
Hey folks,
I think it's an interbreed between a pale-headed and a crimson, based on the colours.
I know Pale-headeds and Easterns interbreed, but the red looks more like a Crimson Rosella.
I found the following link to a story of a crimson and eastern interbreeding:
http://enhs.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Inter-breeding-in-Rosellas.pdf
and this link has detail with pictures of inter breeds between Easterns and Pale Headed Rosellas:
http://www.mdahlem.net/birds/12/paleros.php
Cheers
Tim
Brisbane
Hi Peter,
It was on the Sunshine Coast - it's my folks. Not quite sure why you thought Geelong, but no matter...
Here's a couple more links of Crimson x Easterns:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsdRCO02Bqw
http://photogallery.canberrabirds.org.au/images/Rosella_Eastern_x_Harris.jpg
I can't think what else would get those colours.
Cheers
Tim
Brisbane
Thanks Peter and Timmo. Both lots of info help me to understand what we may have seen. Thanks for the photos and the links
Chrissie
Chrissie
I had no clue to where the pic was taken and just put that in as my prompt to people that location should be stated in this thread
Peter
It's always very helfpul, pacman.
Hi Cimcmast,
have you seen this red pale head rosella of late?
Yes, it was around a few months ago. Why do you ask?
Chrissie
Chrissie
I've studied a few naturally occuring mutations and hybred animals in the wild and most of them are only seen 2 or 3 times and then disappear. The pale head rosella photographed to me appers like an opaline mutation not a hybred but it's hard to tell. It looks like a mature female so if it is a mutation it will produce normal offspring, the males will carry the opaline genes, then these males will pass the genes on to 25% of their young and 50% of the young females that are produced will be the same colour, this is if it is a sex link gene. I have studied some albino Emus that are a resessive gene that are harder to reproduce as two offspring from the same coloured emu need to reproduce as the albino, in this case it is a recessive gene.(Basic info as can get way too much into genetics). These Emus natually occured in the far north SA.
Sorry a long response, to answer why I ask but I just enjoy keeping an eye on animals that are different as they face some real challenges in their life journey most of the time these animals are only noticed at dusk and dawn as they spend the rest of their life hiding from predators.
My email is bird76@bigpond.com if you have any other pictures.
Some more information for this thread, spotted a Pale-headed Rosella interbreed with a Crimson Rosella whilst in the Maleny Precinct (Qld) at about 1300 on 08072022, photo attached.
Wow, what an interesting bird.