A rosella is a type of parrot, and Robin Hill speculates in his book Australian Birds that the name derived from “Rose Hill,” because the parrots were first sighted in the Rose Hill district of Sydney. There are eight types of rosellas in Australia. They vary in appearance, but the crimson rosella that lives in Eastern Australia is among the most vibrant.
In contrast to the the rest of its plumage, the back of the crimson rosella has a striking pattern, as Genevieve Osborne noted in her poem “Crimson Rosella.”


Crimson rosellas are good neighbors, and I’m always happy when they visit because they eat insects and pollinate blossoms.