Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Wolters, H.E. 1975. Die Vogelarten der Erde. Eine systematische Liste mit Verbreitungsangaben sowie deutschen und englischen Namen. Hamburg : Paul Parey Lief. 1, 1-80 pp. [67]
• Schodde, R. in Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1997. Aves (Columbidae to Coraciidae). In, Houston, W.W.K. & Wells, A. (eds). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia Vol. 37.2 xiii 440 pp. [181] (P. capitatus Shaw, 1812)

Introduction

Following Christidis and Boles (2008: 155), the 'Platycercus eximius-adscitus-venustus' complex is separated into individual species.

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

SE Australia, north to Hunter River east of Great Dividing Range and to about Nandewar Range on western slopes of range, NSW—south throughout VIC (except Victorian Alps, forested E Gippsland and NW mallee) and south-west to the South-East of SA as far as middle Coorong and Tintinara—inland to Pilliga, Warren, Euabalong, Cocoparra Range, NSW, and along the Murray-Murrumbidgee river systems to Mildura-Dareton, NSW/VIC—also established (partly from introductions?) in S Mt Lofty Range north to Mt Pleasant and Barossa Valley, SA. Intergrades with P. e. elecica Schodde & Short, 1989 along summit ridges and western slopes of Great Dividing Range between Hunter-Goulburn Rivers and Inverell, NSW, and with P. e. palliceps Lear, 1832 between lower Gwydir and Namoi Rivers (region of Moree-Narrabri-Warialda), NSW.

IBRA

NSW, Qld, SA, Tas, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Ben Lomond (BEL), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Tasmanian Central Highlands (TCH), Tasmanian Northern Midlands (TNM), Tasmanian Northern Slopes (TNS), Tasmanian South East (TSE), Tasmanian Southern Ranges (TSR), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Queensland: Murray-Darling basin, NE coastal
  • South Australia: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Tasmania
  • Victoria

Distribution References

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, diurnal, florivore, folivore, frugivorous, granivore, gregarious, low woodland, nomadic, open forest, resident, terrestrial, volant, woodland.

Extra Ecological Information

Seasonal breeder, in open eucalypt woodland and edges of pasture, feeds mainly on seeds arboreally and on ground, flocks in small groups locally, flies in shallow undulations bringing wings in to side of body, nests on bed of wood dust/debris in tree hollows, incubation by female, both sexes rear pale grey-downed, yellowish-billed chicks, wanders locally to seasonal food sources.

General References

Brereton, J. Le G. & Pidgeon, R. 1966. The language of the Eastern Rosella. Australian Natural History 15: 225-229 (vocalisations, behaviour, movement)

Bridgewater, A.E. 1934. The food of Platycercus eximius and P. elegans. The Emu 33: 175-186 (diet)

Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 288 pp. [155]

Hamel, J. 1970. Hybridisation of Eastern and Crimson Rosellas in Otago. Notornis 17: 126-129 (hybridisation, establishment in New Zealand)

Long, J.L. 1981. Introduced Birds of the World. The worldwide history, distribution and influence of birds introduced to new environments. Illustrated by Susan Tingay. Sydney : A.H. & A.W. Reed 528 pp. (introductions)

Parker, S.A. 1988. The origin of the populations of the Eastern Rosella inhabiting the Mount Lofty Ranges and Adelaide Plains, South Australia. South Australian Ornithologist 30: 132 (establishment in Mt Lofty Range)

History of changes

• Platycercus diemenensis North, A.J. 1911. Nests and Eggs of Birds Found Breeding in Australia and Tasmania. Sydney : Australian Museum Spec. Cat. 1 Vol. 3 vii 362 pp. [Pt II, published July 1911, publication dated as 1912] [128] [proposed conditionally but available under ICZN Art. 15; holotype inferred by Hindwood, K.A. 1946. A list of the types and paratypes of birds from Australian localities in the Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales. Records of the Australian Museum 21: 386–393 and Longmore, N.W. 1991. Type specimens of birds in the Australian Museum. Technichal Report of the Australian Museum n 4: 1–42, but North in the protologue specifies 'specimens from the … island', indicating that material in AM prior to 1911 is syntypic; Hindwood, K.A. 1946. A list of the types and paratypes of birds from Australian localities in the Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales. Records of the Australian Museum 21: 386–393 specification of a type effects lectotypification under ICZN Art. 74].

  Type data:

   Lectotype AM A.6533 ♂ adult, Tasmania.
  Paralectotype(s) AM A.5369 ♂; AM A.5370 ♂; AM A.5371 ♂; AM A.6535 ♀.

  Subsequent designation references:

  Hindwood, K.A. 1946. A list of the types and paratypes of birds from Australian localities in the Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales. Records of the Australian Museum 21: 386-393.

Distribution

States

Tasmania

Extra Distribution Information

Lowland east-central regions, centred in Derwent, Coal, Macquarie, Esk and Tamar River valleys.

IBRA

Tas: Ben Lomond (BEL), Tasmanian Central Highlands (TCH), Tasmanian Northern Midlands (TNM), Tasmanian Northern Slopes (TNS), Tasmanian South East (TSE), Tasmanian Southern Ranges (TSR)

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, diurnal, florivore, folivore, frugivorous, granivore, gregarious, low woodland, nomadic, open forest, resident, sedentary, terrestrial, volant, woodland.

Extra Ecological Information

Seasonal breeder, in open eucalypt woods and edges of pasture, feeds mainly on seeds arboreally and on ground, flocks in small groups locally, flies in shallow undulations bringing wings in to side body, nests on bed of wood dust/debris in tree hollows, incubation by female, both sexes rear pale grey-downed, yellowish-billed chicks.

General References

Green, R.H. & Swift, J.W. 1965. Rosellas as insect eaters. The Emu 65: 75 (diet)

History of changes

• Platycercus eximius elecica Schodde, R. & Short, L.L. in Schodde, R. 1989. New subspecies of Australian birds. Canberra Bird Notes 13: 119-122 [Date published Feb. 1989: publication dated as Dec. 1988] [120] [also as incorrect subsequent spelling, elicica by Wells, R.W. & Wellington, R. 1992. A classification of the cockatoos and parrots (Aves: Psittaciformes) of Australia. Sydney Basin Naturalist 1: 107–169 [Zimmer, J.T. 1926. Catalogue of the Edward E. Ayer Ornithological Library. Field Museum of Natural History Publications, Zoological Series 16: 1–364 (Pt 1, Publ. 239), 365–706 (Pt 2, Publ. 240)]].

  Type data:

   Holotype ANWC 37583 ♂ adult, Lynche's Creek, Wiangaree, NSW.
• Platycercus eximius aureodorsalis McAllan, I.A.W. & Bruce, M.D. 1989. The Birds of New South Wales A Working List. Turramurra, New South Wales : Biocon Research Group vii 103 pp. [publication dated 1988, published May 1989] [44].

  Type data:

   Holotype NMV ♂ adult (H.L. White coll. no. 4633), Copmanhurst, NSW.
  Paratype(s) NMV ♀ adult (H.L. White coll. no. 4632).

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Wolters, H.E. 1975. Die Vogelarten der Erde. Eine systematische Liste mit Verbreitungsangaben sowie deutschen und englischen Namen. Hamburg : Paul Parey Lief. 1, 1-80 pp. [67] (as P. e. cecilae Mathews, 1912)

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland

Extra Distribution Information

Central coastal E Australia, north to the NSW-QLD border ranges and along the summit ridges of the Great Dividing Range to about Toowoomba, QLD, south to the Hunter River drainage, NSW, and west to the summit ridges of the Great Dividing Range, reaching the regions of the Mole River, Inverell, Manilla, and Dunnedoo, NSW. Intergrades with P. e. eximius (Shaw, 1792) along southern and western limits north to Gunnedah-Inverell, NSW, and with P. e. palliceps Lear, 1832 at northern limits from Gold Coast, Tweed River and NSW-QLD border ranges south-west to Inverell and Bingara, NSW.

IBRA

NSW, Qld: Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Nandewar (NAN), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ)

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, diurnal, florivore, folivore, frugivorous, granivore, gregarious, low woodland, nomadic, open forest, resident, tall forest, terrestrial, volant, woodland.

Extra Ecological Information

Seasonal breeder, in tall eucalypt forest, open eucalypt woodland and the edges of pasture, feeds mainly on seeds on ground and in tree canopy (Eucalyptus), flocks in small groups locally, flies in shallow undulations bringing wings in to side of body, nests on bed of wood dust/debris in tree hollows, incubation by female, both sexes rear pale grey-downed, yellowish-billed chicks, wanders locally to seasonal food sources.

General References

Brereton, J. Le G. 1963. The life cycles of three Australian parrots: some comparative and population aspects. Living Bird 2: 21-29 [Mathews, G.M. 1919. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 7 pt 5 pp. 385–499 + xii pls 363–370 Appendixes A & B] (general biology, life cycle)

Brereton, J. Le G. & Pidgeon, R. 1966. The language of the Eastern Rosella. Australian Natural History 15: 225-229 (voice)

Brereton, J. Le G. & Sourry, C. 1959. Some observations on the distribution and abundance of closely-related parrots of the New England district of New South Wales. The Emu 59: 93-100 (ecological distribution, habitat)

Cannon, C.E. 1981. The diet of Eastern and Pale-headed Rosellas. The Emu 81: 101-110 (diet, ecology of diet)

Cannon, C.E. 1983. Descriptions of foraging behaviour of Eastern and Pale-headed Rosellas. Bird Behaviour 4: 63-70 (feeding behaviour)

Cannon, C.E. 1984. Flock size of feeding Eastern and Pale-headed Rosellas (Aves: Psittaciformes). Australian Wildlife Research 11: 349-355 (behaviour)

Cannon, C.E. 1984. Rosellas, Platycercus spp., and their hybrids in the eastern Queensland - New South Wales border region. The Australian Zoologist 21: 175-183 (estimates of hybridization by field observation)

Courtney, J. 1967. Observations on hybridism among rosellas in the natural state. The Emu 67: 152-154 (hybridization with P. elegans (Gmelin, 1788))

Wyndham, E., Brereton, J. le G. & Beeton, R.J.S. 1983. Moult and plumages of Eastern Rosellas, Platycercus eximius. The Emu 83: 242-246 (physiological cycles, biorythms)

Wyndham, E. & Brereton, J. le G. 1982. Ageing and sexing Eastern Rosellas. Corella 6: 89-91 (morphology, ontogeny)

History of changes

• Psittacus eximius Shaw, G. in Shaw, G. & Nodder, F.P. (ill.) 1792. The Naturalist's Miscellany; or coloured figures of natural objects drawn and described immediately from nature. London : Nodder Vol. III pls 75-110. [pl. 93 of original description dated Feb. 1792] [text to pl. 93] [pl. 93 of original description dated Feb. 1792; type material unspecified, but almost certainly a specimen in the Leverian Museum received via Governor Arthur Phillip or Surgeon-General John White from the First Fleet settlement at Port Jackson—now untraced, following dispersal of Leverian Museum, see Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.; Whittell, H.M. 1954. The Literature of Australian Birds: a History and Bibliography of Australian Ornithology. Perth : Paterson Brokensha xi 116 788 pp. (439–440); Stresemann, E. 1975. Ornithology from Aristotle to the Present. [Transl. H.J. & C. Epstein, Cottrell, G.W. (ed.)]. Cambridge : Harvard University Press xii 432 pp. (120–121): not cited in museums receiving Leverian Museum collections, see von Pelzeln, A. 1873. On the birds in the Imperial Collection at Vienna obtained from the Leverian Museum. Ibis 3 3: 14–54; Von Pelzeln, A. 1873. On the birds in the Imperial Collection at Vienna obtained from the Leverian Museum. Part II. Ibis 3 3: 105–124; Wagstaffe, R. 1978. Type Specimens of Birds in the Merseyside County Museums. Liverpool : Merseyside County Museums, Merseyside County Council 33 pp.; holotype probably re-figured on plate 1, dated June 1793, in Shaw, G. 1794. Zoology of New Holland. pp. 33 pp. in Shaw, G. & Smith, J.E. (eds). Zoology and Botany of New Holland, and the isles adjacent. The figures by J. Sowerby, F.L.S. London : J. Sowerby Vol. 1].

  Type data:

   Holotype whereabouts unknown (dispersed and ?lost, ex Leverian Museum?, figured on pl. 93 in Shaw, G. & Nodder, F.P. (ill.) 1792. The Naturalist's Miscellany; or coloured figures of natural objects drawn and described immediately from nature. London : Nodder Vol. III pls 75–110 pp.), region of Port Jackson, NSW (as Nova Hollandia/New Holland).

  Type locality references:

  Schodde, R. in Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1997. Aves (Columbidae to Coraciidae). In, Houston, W.W.K. & Wells, A. (eds). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia Vol. 37.2 xiii 440 pp. [180] (by reason of the fact that material of Australian birds reaching England in the early 1790s came from around the First Fleet settlement at Port Jackson, NSW, see Whittell, H.M. 1954. The Literature of Australian Birds: a History and Bibliography of Australian Ornithology. Perth : Paterson Brokensha xi 116 788 pp. [23–27]; cf. Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171–455 [publication dated Jan. 1912, published 31 Jan.]).
• Psittacus nonpareil Perry, G. 1810. Arcana; or The Museum of Natural History: containing the most recent discovered objects. Embellished with coloured plates, and corresponding descriptions; with extracts relating to animals, and remarks of celebrated travellers; combining a general survey of nature. London : J. Stratford Vol. 1 84 pls & accompanying text. [Publication dated as 1810–1811, pages and plates not numbered. See Mathews & Iredale (1912) for details of publication dates.] [text to pl. 9] [based in part on the Nonpareil Parrot (=Psittacus eximius Shaw, 1792 (q.v.)), and in part on a specimen in the collection of W. Bullock, since dispersed, see Sharpe, R.B. 1906. Birds. pp. 79–515 in, The History of the Collections contained in the Natural History Departments of the British Museum. London : British Museum Vol. 2.—that specimen could itself be the holotype of P. eximius Shaw, 1792, ex Leverian Museum, the bulk of which was acquired by the W. Bullock collection, see Stresemann, E. 1975. Ornithology from Aristotle to the Present. [Transl. H.J. & C. Epstein, Cottrell, G.W. (ed.)]. Cambridge : Harvard University Press xii 432 pp. (120–121)].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown (?lost, ex W Bullock Museum figured on pl. 9 in Perry, G. 1810. Arcana; or The Museum of Natural History: containing the most recently discovered objects. Embellished with Coloured plates, and corresponding descriptions; with Extracts relating to Animals, and remarks of celebrated travellers; combining a general survey of Nature. London : J. Stratford Vol. 1 84 pls pp. [publication dated as 1810–1811] that of Psittacus eximius Shaw, 1792), Botany Bay (=region of Port Jackson), NSW (cf. Psittacus eximius Shaw, 1792).
• Psittacus omnicolor Bechstein, J.M. 1811. Kurze Uebersicht aller bekannten Vögel: oder ihre Kennzeichen der Art nach Lathams General Synopsis of Birds und seinem Index ornithologicus. Nürnberg : A.G. Schneider & Weigel iv 536 pp. 42 pls. [68] [junior homonym of Psittacus omnicolor Lichtenstein, 1793 (=Charmosyna papou (Scopoli, 1786)); based wholly or in part on la Perruche omnicolore on pls 28 & 29 in Levaillant, F. 1805. Histoire Naturelle des Perroquets. Paris : Levrault, Schoell & Ce Vol. 1 135 pp. pls 1–71 [published between 1801–1805]].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) MNHP (institution uncertain, figured on pl. 2 of original description and on pls 28 & 29 in Levaillant, F. 1805. Histoire Naturelle des Perroquets. Paris : Levrault, Schoell & Ce Vol. 1 135 pp. pls 1–71 [published between 1801–1805]), coastal southeast New South Wales (as Insel der Südsee).

  Type locality references:

  Schodde, R. in Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1997. Aves (Columbidae to Coraciidae). In, Houston, W.W.K. & Wells, A. (eds). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia Vol. 37.2 xiii 440 pp. [180] (by reason of the fact that Bechstein's description and plate (above) represent the nominotypical form, the only material of which to reach Europe before 1805 came from coastal southeast NSW around Botany Bay and Port Jackson, cf. Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171–455 [publication dated Jan. 1912, published 31 Jan.]).
• Psittacus capitatus Shaw, G. 1812. General Zoology, or Systematic Natural History. Aves. London : Kearsley, Wilkie & Robinson Vol. VIII Pt 2 vi pp. 244-557 pls 46-84. [Date published 1811] [466] [based on the Lori Perruche de la mer de Sud described by J.J. Virey in Buffon, L. 1805. Histoire Naturelle Générale et Particulière. Nouvelle Edition, accompagnée de Notes, et dans laquelle les Supplémens sont insérés dans le premier texte, à la place qui leur convenient. Oiseaux. (C.S. Sonnini, ed.). Paris : F. Dufart. [published between 1800–1805]; although treated as unidentifiable by Finsch, O. 1868. Die Papageien, monographisch bearbeitet. Leiden : E.J. Brill Vol. 2 vii 996 pp. 5 pls (Appendix) and by Salvadori, T. 1891. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Psittaci, or Parrots. London : British Museum Vol. 20 xvii 658 pp. XVIII pls (607), the description matches this form, see also Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171–455 [publication dated Jan. 1912, published 31 Jan.] and subsequent revisions—so it is included provisionally in the synonymy of this subspecies].

  Type data:

   Holotype whereabouts unknown, coastal southeast New South Wales (as Southern islands).

  Type locality references:

  Schodde, R. in Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1997. Aves (Columbidae to Coraciidae). In, Houston, W.W.K. & Wells, A. (eds). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia Vol. 37.2 xiii 440 pp. [180] (by reason of the fact that the meagre original description matches the nominotypical form, the only material of which to reach Europe before 1805 came from coastal southeast New South Wales around Botany Bay and Port Jackson, cf. Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171–455 [publication dated Jan. 1912, published 31 Jan.]).
• Platycercus eximius colei Mathews, G.M. 1917. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 6 pt 4 pp. 297-372 pls 300-307. [Date published 27 June 1917: volume dated as 1916–1917] [360].

  Type data:

   Holotype AMNH 622864 ♂ (G.M. Mathews' coll. no. 343), Ballarat, VIC
  Comment: for identification of holotype, see Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Wolters, H.E. 1975. Die Vogelarten der Erde. Eine systematische Liste mit Verbreitungsangaben sowie deutschen und englischen Namen. Hamburg : Paul Parey Lief. 1, 1-80 pp. [67]
• Schodde, R. in Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1997. Aves (Columbidae to Coraciidae). In, Houston, W.W.K. & Wells, A. (eds). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia Vol. 37.2 xiii 440 pp. [181]
• Schodde, R. in Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1997. Aves (Columbidae to Coraciidae). In, Houston, W.W.K. & Wells, A. (eds). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia Vol. 37.2 xiii 440 pp. [181]

Distribution

States

New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria

IBRA

NSW, SA, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP)

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, diurnal, florivore, folivore, frugivorous, granivore, gregarious, low woodland, nomadic, open forest, resident, terrestrial, volant, woodland.

History of changes