The corellas feed extensively on the seeds of cereal crops, the seeds of weeds such as Cape Weed and Double Gee, as well as the corms of Onion Grass and insect larvae.
The larvae feed on various herbaceous plants, including Arctotheca calendula, Onopordum acaulon, Lupinus nanus, Medicago sativa, Erodium species and Zaluzianskya divaricata.
However, it also feeds on several introduced species, including Capeweed (Arctotheca calendula), Scotch Thistle (Onopordum acanthium), and Lavender (Lavendula officinalis).