lirralirra

It’s been a while since I’ve sat under my fabric hide and watched and waited; I loved every moment, even the little ant bites didn’t spoil the magic.

Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans) – juvenile
1/1000, f/5.6, ISO 3200

This juvenile Crimson Rosella appeared just as the sun disappeared which meant that I had to open the shutter to its widest and bump the ISO up to 3200 and hope that it would peek at me as it fed among the fruit. It was mainly eating fruit from the ‘wrong’ side of the tree so I felt lucky when it finally leaned through the foliage to test an apricot I could actually see. Young crimsons are often mistaken for another species as their markings are quite different from the adult plumage.

Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans) – adult
1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 800

Adult Crimson Rosella are stunning birds. Not everyone likes nature images with such a dark background but sometimes I think they add a great contrast, and maybe even drama. The image above was taken in the early evening when the sun was low on the horizon (as you can see from the catchlight) and the background was already deep in shadow.

Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans) – adult
1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 800

This crop deletes the distracting leaves and shows more details of the crimson’s beautiful blue, red and black feathers – it also shows more detail of yet another juicy ripe apricot that I didn’t get to eat. Almost every apricot I have tasted recently has had a few nibbles taken from it.

Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans) – leucistic
1/800, f/5.6, ISO 3200

At first I thought this bird was a sweet youngster when it popped up from a sea of leaves to look towards the camera (which must look like some kind of bunyip when covered with the camouflaged fabric). When I saw it more clearly I realised it is possibly leucistic. Leucism is a genetic mutation which causes colour to be reduced in all or some of the affected bird’s feathers.

Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans) – leucistic
1/800, f/5.6, ISO 3200

If only the birds would eat this much of each apricot instead of the single nibble that so many of them get. This wider view of the crimson shows more normal adult colouring on its back (the juvenile bird in the first image has a green back) but it still has patches of soft grey and its legs appear paler than usual. It’s such an interesting looking bird, I think it would look amazing if someone talented with embroidery or patchwork used it as an inspiration – the variegated patches of colour look exquisite.

Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans) – leucistic
1/800, f/5.6, ISO 3200

I’ve included a close-up without the distracting leaves that shows more detail. Psittacine beak and feather disease can also cause feather anomalies but this bird is not unkempt and shows no damage to its bill or feathers so I’m confident that it isn’t unwell.

Happy birding

Kim

NB  There is discussion going on behind the scenes about this bird; its colouring is not noted in the Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds (HANZAB).

PS  There will be some duck news coming soon – I saw Australia’s first ever Tufted Duck on Monday which was amazing, and the Victorian Government has announced this year’s shooting season which has upset shooters and those of us opposed to duck shooting.