Platycercus elegans
Silhouette: Farelli (photo), John E. McCormack, Michael G. Harvey, Brant C. Faircloth, Nicholas G. Crawford, Travis C. Glenn, Robb T. Brumfield & T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The crimson rosella (Platycercus elegans) is a parrot native to eastern and south eastern Australia which has been introduced to New Zealand and Norfolk Island. It is commonly found in, but not restricted to, mountain forests and gardens. The species as it now stands has subsumed two former separate species, the yellow rosella and the Adelaide rosella. Molecular studies show one of the three red-coloured races, P. e. nigrescens, is genetically more distinct.
The crimson rosella was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus elegans. This Latin name had been used in 1605 by the Flemish botanist Carolus Clusius in his book Exoticorum libri decem for the hawk-headed parrot, however this predates the start of Linnean taxonomy.
The crimson rosella had been described and named by John Latham in 1781 as the "Beautiful Lory", from a specimen in the collection of Sir Joseph Banks, and then as the "Pennantian Parrot" in 1787 in honour of Thomas Pennant. However, Latham did not give the... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Booderee National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Flinders Chase | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 11 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Le Pal | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Liberec Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 3 | Walsrode World Bird Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Toronto Zoo | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Yumka' | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 6 | Yerevan Zoo | 🇦🇲 Armenia | |
| 7 | Kyiv Zoo | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 8 | Dyrehaven i Nørreskoven | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 9 | Fort Worth Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Potter Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Auckland Zoo | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 12 | Bioparque Educativo Quillón | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 13 | Paphos Zoo | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | |
| 14 | Loro Parque | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 15 | Castellar Zoo | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 16 | The Green Planet | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | |
| 17 | Ranger Red’s Zoo & Conservation Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Very likely
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Crimson Rosella sighting in Wilsons Promontory National Park on a given day, based on 810 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 4th most-seen of the 138 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February to September
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Crimson Rosella in Wilsons Promontory National Park on a given day, against about 50% in January, the lowest month.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Crimson Rosella sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Crimson Rosella sightings, Wilsons Promontory National Park ranks 5th at about 70%. The best odds are in Lamington National Park (Australia, about 90%), Grampians National Park (Australia, about 80%) and Kosciuszko National Park (Australia, about 80%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Crimson Rosella is recorded against all the birds logged in Wilsons Promontory National Park (810 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
