Hybrid rosella?

[Kim Farley via Canberrabirds <>]

Philip, you so often have interesting things to say about hybrid birds and aviary birds. Interesting again today.

I wrote back to David with Macaulay Library links to photos taken of hybrid birds in the part of Canberra where David lives, though I don't think any matched the bird he saw. Each of the three birds linked is quite different, and I chose just three from those that have been uploaded to eBird and Macaulay Library for the ACT.

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/344817531

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/514944651

https://ebird.org/australia/checklist/S157918046

Kim

On Fri, Mar 29, 2024 at 12:30 PM Philip Veerman <> wrote:

Crimson / Eastern Rosella hybrids are noted at least most years. I don’t know if anyone knows how long they last. As it is curious that they seem to just turn up and be noticed for short periods. We don’t appear to have a stable hybrid population, as for example happens with lorikeets or I think all the exotic South American parakeets, that are feral around the cities of USA.  I suggest (and without a picture, it is only a suggestion) from your description it is statistically most likely to be a hybrid. Maybe second generation. First generation hybrids show a lot of variation, obviously because they are a random genetic mix, but are normally overall more like Eastern Rosella but with pale blue cheeks and more random bits of red on the back and underparts. There have been several photos posted over the years.

 

Philip

 

From: Canberrabirds [ On Behalf Of Dr David Rosalky
Sent: Friday, 29 March, 2024 9:39 AM
To: COG bird list
Subject: [Canberrabirds] Hybrid rosella?

 

This morning, I observed what was at first sight a Crimson Rosella: blue cheek patch, essentially blue and red coloration and of a larger dimension cf Eastern.

But the bird had blotchy uneven pale yellow patches on its breast. 

Possibilities:

·        Juvenile/immature Crimson R – looked quite unlike other juveniles around here

·        Genetic colour defect like leucism

·        Hybrid with predominantly Crimson genetic material.

 

Any ideas?

 

David Rosalky

Virus-free.www.avast.com

--
This is the email announcement and discussion list of the Canberra Ornithologists Group.
Emails posted to the list that exceed 2 MB (2,000 kB) in size, including attachments, will be rejected.
All emails distributed via the list are archived at http://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/archives/html/canberrabirds. It is a condition of list membership that you agree to your contributions being archived.

Canberrabirds mailing list

https://lists.canberrabirds.org.au/mailman/listinfo/canberrabirds

ATT00001.txt
Description: ATT00001.txt