Vent and under tail-coverts red. Feathers of back and wings black outlined with greenish-yellow. Under wing-coverts and outer webs of flight feathers blue. Upper mandible notched. Sexes alike in plumage but in females the red on head and breast is duller and less extensive and there is a white underwing-stripe present.
Males have wider, heavier upper mandible.
Also a shrill alarm screech. Introduced to New Zealand. Except for the middle of the day, when they shelter from the heat in the outermost branches of a eucalyptus, they spend most of their time in the treetops feeding on seeds and blossoms or on the ground searching for grass seeds or spilled grain around haystacks. Other food eaten includes hawthorn and pyracanthus berries, clover and thistle seeds. Zoo diet includes seeds, fruits, greens, mealworms, nuts, dog chow, bread, and minerals.