The Gouldian Finch

Both sexes are brightly coloured with black, green, yellow, red and other colours. The females tend to be less brightly coloured. One major difference between the sexes is that the male's chest is purple, while the female's is a lighter mauve colour.

ldian Finches are about 130–140 mm long. Gouldian Finches' heads may be red, black, or yellow. People used to think they were three different kinds of finches, but now it is known that they are colour variants that exist in the wild.[1] Selective breeding has also developed mutations (blue, yellow and silver instead of green back) in body colour and breast colour.

Juveniles have distinctive colours. Their heads, sides and necks are grey, and their backs, wings and tail feathers are olive green. Their undersides are pale brown. Beaks are blackish with a reddish tip. Their legs and feet are light brown. Newly hatched Gouldian finches are pink and naked until about 12 days old when the beginnings of feathers start to appear. Very young birds also have blue, phosphorescent beads on the sides of their beaks to help their parents see them in the dark.

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Rose-ringed Parakeet

The Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri), also known as the Ringnecked Parakeet, is a gregarious tropical parakeet species that is popular as a pet. Its scientific name commemorates the Austrian naturalist Wilhelm Heinrich Kramer.

This non-migrating species is one of few parrot species that have successfully adapted to living in 'disturbed habitats', and in that way withstood the onslaught of urbanisation and deforestation. In the wild, this is a noisy species with an unmistakable squawking call.

As is the case with all Psittacula (Afro-Asian Ringnecked Parakeet) species, the Rose-ringed Parakeet is sexually dimorphic. The adult male sports a black neck-ring and pink nape-band while the hen and immature birds of both sexes either show no neck rings, or display shadow-like pale to dark grey neck-rings and light (lighter coloured than surroundings) nape-bands.

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Eastern Rosella

Description

The bird is around 30 cm long, with a red head and upper breast and white cheeks. The rest of the breast is yellow becoming more greenish toward the abdomen. The feathers of the back and shoulders are black with yellowish margins, giving rise to a scalloped appearance. The wings and lateral tail feathers are bluish while the rest of the tail is dark green. The female is similar to the male though duller in colouration.

The Eastern Rosella is found in lightly wooded country. It eats grass seeds and fruits. Breeding occurs in spring and early summer and up to seven white eggs are laid in tree hollows.

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Rose-Breasted Cockatoo - Galah- Eolophus roseicapilla

Description

Galahs are about 35 cm (14 in) long. They have a pale grey to mid-grey back, a pink face and chest, and a light pink crest. The sexes appear similar, however generally adult birds differ in eye colour; the male has a very dark brown (almost black) iris, and the female has a mid-brown/red iris. Typical birds are about 350 mm long and weigh between 300 and 400 grams.


Distribution and habitat

Galahs are found in all Australian states, and are absent only from the driest areas and the far north of Cape York Peninsula. They appear to have been self-introduced to Tasmania. They are common in some metropolitan areas, for example Perth and Melbourne, and common to abundant in open habitats which offer at least some scattered trees for shelter. The changes wrought by European settlement, a disaster for many species, have been highly beneficial for the galah because of the clearing of forests in fertile areas and the provision of stock watering points in arid zones.

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Rainbow Lorikeet- trichoglossus haematodus

The Rainbow Lorikeet, Trichoglossus haematodus is a species of Australasian parrot found in Australia, eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. In Australia, it is common along the eastern seaboard, from Queensland to South Australia and northwest Tasmania. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. The taxonomy is disputed, and it is often split into several species (see Taxonomy).

Rainbow Lorikeets have been introduced to Perth, Western Australia,[2] Auckland, New Zealand[3] and Hong Kong.[4]



Description

The Rainbow Lorikeet is very colourful. Almost every colour of the rainbow is found on the feathers of the rainbow lorikeet. They are not large birds, with a Rainbow Lorikeets length ranging from 25-30 cm (9.8-11.8 in) in size, and with a wingspan of about 17 cm (6.7 in). They vary significantly in colouration between the numerous subspecies. Their markings of the best known subspecies T. h. moluccanus are particularly striking: A dark blue or violet-blue head and stomach, a bright green back, tail and vent, and an orange breast and beak. Several subspecies have darker scalloped markings across the orange or red breast and the Weber's Lorikeet (T. h. weberi) is predominantly green.
Rainbow Lorikeet feather — photo shows both sides of the same feather

Rainbow Lorikeets travel together as pairs mostly and often pick up calls to fly as a flock, then dispersing again into pairs. Rainbow Lorikeet pairs defend their feeding and nesting areas aggressively against other Rainbow Lorikeets, and other bird species. They chase off not only smaller birds such as the Noisy Miner, but also larger and more powerful birds such as the Australian Magpie.

Although individual Rainbow Lorikeets are difficult to distinguish by their plumage they are possible to distinguish by their behaviour, size and eye colour differences at the very outside of the iris.

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