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Pale-headed Rosella |
Sightings
We live in the region where the habitats of Pale-headed Rosellas and Eastern Rosellas overlap and where they are known to interbreed. Pale-headed Rosellas are seen in the Narrabri area more infrequently than Eastern Rosellas.
So far, pure-bred Pale-headed Rosellas have been spotted by us only occasionally, 25 km west of Narrabri. There were some sightings in 2005, then none in 2006, but seen again in April and August 2007.
We have not seen a Pale-headed Rosella yet near Narrabri that did not have an Eastern Rosella as partner.
Hybrids are mules; therefore, there is no gradual transition between the two species, with only one generation of birds with mixed parentage.
Photos
Pair of Pale-headed Rosella (left) and a hybrid between Pale-headed and Eastern Rosella (right) on a lawn; note how extremely pale the head of the bird on the left is coloured, compared with other specimens shown on this page (click on image for larger version)
Pair of Eastern Rosella (bottom) and Pale-headed Rosella (top) (click on image for larger version)
Lateral view of a Pale-headed Rosella sighted in 2007 25 km west of Narrabri, New South Wales
Frontal view of the same bird as above
View of its back
Here a very young Rosella of mixed parentage. It is a mix between Eastern Rosella and Pale-headed Rosella (click on image for higher-resolution version)
A portrait of the little chick is available here.
Habits
In the region where their habitats overlap, i.e. northern New South Wales and southern Queensland, Eastern Rosellas and Pale-headed Rosellas can interbreed. We have seen at least three such mixed couples so far.