Crimson Rosellas: to feed or not to feed

Crimson Rosellas are often at my place, especially when the eight-year-old Wildlife Warrior is here.

Crimson Rosella (Platycercus caledonicus)
Canon 5DIII, 1/640, f/5.6, ISO 1600, focal length 400mm

Crimson Rosellas are one of 56 Australian parrot species, they are about 34cm long and weigh about 130g. Their feathers are predominantly crimson except where the birds occur around the Flinders Ranges where they are orange, and along the Murray and Murrumbidgee where they are yellow – the orange offspring appear where the crimsons and yellows meet. They all have bright blue cheeks, wings and tails while the feathers on their backs are broadly fringed with colour. They are beautiful birds that I think we often take for granted in the areas where they are commonly seen, from South Australia through Victoria and New South Wales and into parts of Queensland.

Crimson Rosella (Platycercus caledonicus) – juvenile
Canon 5DIII, 1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 800, focal length 400mm

Juvenile Crimson Rosellas are greenish-olive apart from their blue cheeks; people often mistake the youngsters for a separate species. I never tire of the magic of seeing a small flock of crimsons fly into shrubs and trees and disappear despite their bright colours. I called it ‘colourful camouflage’ in an earlier post about Rainbow Lorikeets.

Crimson Rosellas feed on seeds and blossoms supplemented with insects. They are usually spotted in eucalypt forests, feeding or nimbly flying through the trees. They nest in hollows which can be an issue if Common (Indian) Mynas or Common (European) Starlings are in the area. A few years ago I was watching a pair of crimsons setting up a nest in hollow. They’d visited several times, taking turns to go inside and inspect the space. One crimson was inside the hollow while the other was perched on the rim peering at its mate when a Common Myna flew in, pushed past the crimson and chased both rosellas away from the hollow.

Crimson Rosella (Platycercus caledonicus) – juvenile
Canon 5DIII, 1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 800, focal length 400mm

Crimson Rosellas and other birds from the parrot family can be attracted to bird feeding trays in gardens and parks, and sometimes become tame enough to land on people who are offering seeds. There has been a lot of talk online recently about whether wild birds should be artificially fed – despite the comments being in print it’s clear that people on both sides were raising their voices. On the pro side people enjoy seeing the birds up close, it strengthens their bond with nature and they truly believe they are doing no harm. I used to be in that category but soon learned that it is far better to plant trees and shrubs that attract the birds, and to supply clean water rather than food. Psittacine Beak and Feather disease is a life-threatening illness that affects parrots and causes feather loss and grossly deformed beak growth. This devastating virus is highly contagious and easily spread by the poop, crop contents and feather dust that builds up at and around feeding stations. Tiny hatchlings can also be infected and nesting hollows can remain contaminated for many years. There is no cure for the illness though occasionally a bird survives only to become a carrier, spreading the virus and infecting other birds.

Psittacine Beak and Feather disease doesn’t affect humans but another parrot disease, psittacosis, occasionally does; psittacosis is also known as parrot fever. It’s a serious, but thankfully rare, illness and doctors recommend taking care not to inhale dried secretions when handling parrots or cleaning feeding tables.

Crimson Rosella (Platycercus caledonicus) – juvenile
Canon 5DIII, 1/1000, f/6.3, ISO 800, focal length 400mm

There are also concerns about birds not foraging appropriately in the wild when food is offered at feeding stations. So many people vigorously ridiculed this notion, stressing that the birds come and go from their verandas and clearly forage in the wild – so many people, in fact, that I can’t help but wonder if the birds are getting breakfast at one place before flying to another home a couple of streets away and so on through the day. The issue here is that the birds will not be getting appropriate nutrition. Parrots are particularly fond of sunflower seeds and will carefully pick them out of a selection of mixed seeds but this can result in deficiencies in amino acids and calcium resulting in metabolic bone disease causing fractures, weakness and shaking. It also affects the viability of eggs as the shells are often too thin to sustain the embryo. There are other conditions directly related to inappropriate feeding including heart failure, obesity and the wing deformity commonly known as ‘angel wing’.

In some places artificial feeding supplies a vital supplement to birds that would otherwise not survive, particularly after bush fires or during harsh winters where habitat destruction has reduced the availability of natural food but apart from that I think we’re all better off creating bird-friendly gardens. I’m passionate about birding ethics and if you are too you might be interested in joining the facebook group where I’m one of the admins: Ethical Bird Photography

And to revisit my first sentence, the eight-year-old Wildlife Warrior has just started a blog and, if you have a spare moment, I know that encouraging comments would be appreciated – Wildlife Warrior Blog

Happy birding, Kim

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