Eastern rosella

Most often seen on the lawns and in the trees around Mansion House, but turns up in bays and along tracks all over the island. Listen for a metallic 'pink pink pink' as a pair flies off.

Story

Eastern rosellas come from south-eastern Australia. Escaped cage birds and deliberate releases had them living wild around Auckland before 1920, and by the mid-1940s they had spread north to Warkworth and Leigh. They have since reached most of the inner Hauraki Gulf islands, Kawau among them. Auckland Council is working to keep them off Aotea/Great Barrier.

Behaviour

Rosellas feed in trees and on the ground, mostly on seeds, along with fruit, nectar, buds and insects. In New Zealand they eat flax, tōtara and pōhutukawa seed and drink pūriri nectar. Pairs stay together for several seasons and nest in tree holes, laying 4–7 eggs from October.