I suggest that the bit about “Rose Hillers” name morphing into “Rosellas”, is pretty much common knowledge.
As for seasonality of the species in Canberra, the pattern is very obvious from the graph on page 103 of The GBS Report. The text extract is: “A species
of forest that has, in recent years infiltrated the suburbs adjacent to Stromlo forest. This was documented by Holland & Veerman (2000) and Holland (2000). Even though this is a recent occurrence, the bird shows a strong seasonal pattern to its presence in
the suburbs. Therefore it is very likely that it was originally an altitudinal migrant. From a July peak, numbers drop smoothly during spring to a December minimum of about one tenth that number and rise smoothly again in autumn.”
That was the situation up till 2002. Since then, the species has dramatically increased its presence in Canberra, so the range of time it is in our area has
probably changed. However, there is no consistently compiled information on the GBS data that has been provided since then, so we can’t update this information. It is well overdue for The GBS Report to be redone…….
Philip
From: Canberrabirds [
On Behalf Of Rob Geraghty via Canberrabirds
Sent: Wednesday, 19 November, 2025 2:58 PM
To: 'Nick Payne'
Cc: Canberra Birds
Subject: Re: [Canberrabirds] Fwd: Bowerbird obsession with blue?
That was my understanding about “Rose Hillers” also, Nick.
I just went and checked the bower nearby. It seems to have been destroyed and abandoned, but in addition to pieces of blue plastic, he had a Crimson Rosella
feather (see photos).
Now I’m curious whether some bowers are only maintained during the breeding season? The one I knew in Lamington National park was jealously guarded and carefully
maintained year-round. The Bowerbirds only seem to be resident in our part of Kambah at certain times of the year – perhaps only Spring? Explore in ebird suggests that they’re only present nearby between April and September (so Winter and Spring), but I may
also be the only one providing records of them for my local area. My suspicion is that they may move to areas like the Murrumbidgee valley, but for the ACT overall, ebird suggests that they are present year-round. I’d love to be able to see from the data whether
they do move around seasonally.
From: Canberrabirds [
On Behalf Of Nick Payne via Canberrabirds
Sent: Wednesday, 19 November 2025 12:56 PM
To:
Subject: Re: [Canberrabirds] Fwd: Bowerbird obsession with blue?
According to Trove (https://trove.nla.gov.au/trivia/how-did-rosella-get-its-name) the name Rosella is derived from "Rose Hiller", that being the early name applied to the parrots
which were abundant in Rosehill.
Nick Payne
On 19/11/2025 09:42, Julie Hotchin via Canberrabirds wrote:
Hi Kim,
Yes, that's it. The Rosehill Parakeet is an early colonial name for the Eastern Rosella and Crimson Rosellas are also known as Pennant's Parakeets or Pennantian Parrot, after Thomas Pennant, an eighteenth-century Welsh naturalist (from
Australian Bird Names: Origins and Meanings by Ian Fraser and Jeannie Gray).
On Wed, 19 Nov 2025, 9:01 am Kim Farley via Canberrabirds, <> wrote:
A nice post and pic, Geoffrey. Presumably the Rose-hill Parakeet is the Eastern Rosella? But what is the Pennantian Parrakeet? Crimson Rosella perhaps?
On Wed, Nov 19, 2025 at 8:45 AM Geoffrey Dabb via Canberrabirds <> wrote:
Relevant evidence is provided by Gould’s Birds of Australia (1848), lithograph by J & E Gould. Gould refers to ‘blue tail feathers of the Rose-hill
and Pennantian Parrakeets, bleached bones, the shells of snails, & c.’. Gould shows the skull of a small animal. Perhaps an antechinus? An expert might be able to identify it from the dentition, and tell us if it is one of the small mammals that have become
extinct since European occupation of the continent or, disappointingly, merely an arrival with the First Fleet.
