Eastern Rosella

The Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius) is a native to the southeast of the Australian continent including Tasmania. It has been introduced to New Zealand where feral populations are found in the North Island and in the hills around Dunedin in the South Island.

On average the Eastern Rosella is 30 cm (12 in) long with a red head and white cheeks. The beak is white and the irises are brown. The upper breast is red and the lower breast is yellow fading to pale green over the abdomen.

The feathers of the back and shoulders are black, and have yellowish or greenish margins giving rise to a scalloped appearance that varies slightly between the subspecies and the sexes. The wings and lateral tail feathers are bluish while the tail is dark green.

More red.

I left in the dry branches as they added to the overall composition, rather than using my usual fairly tight crop.