As I have said, the food of this species principally consists of berries and grass-seeds, but insects appear occasionally to form a part of its diet, as I found the crop of one specimen filled with small caterpillars; it was, however, a solitary occurrence.
Like the other members of the genus, the _Platycercus Pennantii_ runs rapidly over the ground, but its flight is neither rapid nor enduring. In disposition it is tame and destitute of distrust, and as a pet for the aviary or a cage, few birds can exceed it in interest or beauty; consequently it is one of the commonest of the living parrakeets sent from Australia to this country.
It breeds in the holes of the large gum-trees, generally selecting those on the hill-sides within the brushes; and of such situations, the cedar brushes of the Liverpool range appear to be a favourite locality. The months of September, October and November constitute the breeding season. It makes no nest, but deposits its eggs, which are white, about an inch and two lines long, eleven and a half lines broad, and from four to seven in number, on the rotten wood at the bottom of the hole.
The colouring of the sexes when fully adult is alike, but much variation exists between youth and maturity; during the first autumn the young birds are clothed in a plumage of a nearly uniform green; to this succeeds a parti-coloured livery of scarlet, blue and green, which colouring is continually changing until the full plumage of maturity is assumed; and hence has arisen no little confusion respecting this species in the writings of the older ornithologists, and it is not to be wondered at that its synonyms are so numerous.
The adult male has the head, neck, all the under surface, the rump and upper tail-coverts rich deep crimson-red; the feathers of the back and scapularies black, broadly margined with rich crimson-red; the cheeks and shoulders cœrulean blue; the greater wing-coverts pale blue; the primaries and secondaries black, with the basal half of their external webs margined with deep blue; the two centre tail-feathers green, passing into blue on their margins and at the tip; the remainder black on the inner webs for three-fourths of their length; deep blue for nearly the same length on their outer webs, and largely tipped on both webs with pale blue, which becomes still paler to the tips of the feathers; bill horn-colour; irides very dark brown; feet blackish brown.