Smaller than all rosella species except the western rosella, the adult northern

rosella weighs 90 to 110 g (3.2 to 3.9 oz) and is 29 to 32 cm (11 to 13 in) long.
[18] It has broad wings with a wingspan of around 44 cm (17 in),[9][18] and a long
tail with twelve feathers.[9] The sexes are almost indistinguishable, though some
adult females have duller plumage and are more likely to have some red feathers on
the head and breast.[19] The adult bird has a black forehead, crown, lores, ear
coverts, upper neck and nape, a whitish throat and large cheek-patches, which are
mainly white with violet lower borders in the nominate subspecies,[20] and more
blue with a narrow white upper segment in subspecies hillii. The feathers of the
lower neck, mantle and scapulars are black narrowly fringed with yellow, giving a
scalloped appearance, while the feathers of the back, rump, upper tail coverts and
underparts are pale yellow with black borders and concealed grey bases. Those of
the breast have very dark grey bases, occasionally tinged with red. The undertail
covert feathers are red with black fringes. The feathers on the upper leg are pale
yellow tinged with blue.[20] The central rectrices of the long tail are dark green
changing to dark blue at the tips, while the other feathers are dark blue with two
bands of pale blue and white tips. The undertail is pale blue with a white tip. The
wings have a wide purplish blue shoulder patch at rest, with the secondary feathers
edged darker blue and the primaries black edged with blue. The beak is off-white
with a grey cere, the legs and feet are grey, and the iris is dark brown.[18]
Immature birds resemble adults but are duller overall, with less-well defined cheek
patches. The black plumage in particular is more greyish, and there are more likely
to be scattered red feathers on the head, neck and underparts.