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CRIMSON ROSELLA

Platycercus elegans is a medium-sized Australian parrot at 36 cm (14 in) long, much of which is tail. There are five subspecies, three of which are actually crimson. The red is replaced by yellow in the case of var. flaveolus and a mixture of red, orange and yellow in the Adelaide Rosella.

Adults and juveniles generally show strikingly different colouration in south-eastern populations, with predominantly greenish-olive body plumage on the juvenile, most persistent on the nape and breast. Juveniles are said to 'ripen' as they get older and turn from green to red. All races have blue cheeks and black-scalloped blue-margined wings and predominantly blue tail with predominantly red coloration. The Crimson Rosella’s blue tail feathers are one of the favourite decorations of the Satin Bowerbird. The bill is pale grey and the iris dark brown.

There is very little sexual dimorphism in Crimson Rosellas. The most noticeable difference between genders is that males are up to 15% larger, and have a relatively larger and wider beak.

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