Green Rosella

Platycercus caledonicus

Johann Friedrich Gmelin was the first to describe the species, in 1788.

Platycercus combines the Greek platus (broad or flat) and kerkos (tail); caledonicus refers, in error, to New Caledonia (the Green Rosella is solely Tasmanian).

William T. Cooper, Green Rosella (Platycercus caledonicus) 1969 (adult male)

Author’s note: The Green Rosella was first illustrated by ship’s artist William Ellis, who saw it in 1777 at Adventure Bay, Tasmania, during James Cook’s third and final voyage to the Pacific.

John Gould (artist), Henry Constantine Richter (lithographer), Platycercus flaviventris (Yellow-bellied Parrakeet) 1848 

(immature, left; adult, right)

Author’s note: John Gould, rightly called the father of Australian ornithology, knew the Green Parrot well. During his visit to Tasmania in 1838, he found it widespread and, observing that it fed on grass seeds, eucalypt flowers and insects, decided that its flesh would be ‘delicate, tender and well-flavoured’. He enjoyed it so much that he claimed he ‘partook’ at every opportunity.