Saturday, 8 September, on the Murrumbidgee River,18km east of Wagga
Wagga, a pair of Yellow Rosellas Platycercus elgans flaveolus landed in
a eucalypt sapling 15m from where I stood. As I lived in the vicinity –
which appears to be at the eastern extremity of the Yellow Rosella's range
– for years they're one of the birds of my childhood, so I always enjoy
watching them.
As they landed I was surprised by their size which appeared to be at
least 15% larger than normal.
The rosellas climbed up the sapling, nonchalantly snipping off dead
twigs and letting them fall as I binoed them for 90 seconds before they
moved on. Then I took the notebook and copied down my observations,
particularly the field marks, while they were still fresh to mind. You see, I
nurtured a slight suspicion they might have been hybrids but remained
dubious.
Back home, as I checked references, I became convinced I'd seen a
pair of ordinary, mature Yellow Rosellas, albeit unusually large specimens. But,
I'm left wondering if noticeably larger-than-average individuals are known to
occur among birds in the wild. And how likely would it be for two
heavyweights of a feather to come together?
John Layton
