| |
|
| Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo |
|
| Calyptorhyncus banksii |
The Red-tailed Black Cockatoo is widespread in drier parts of Australia, in a broad band across the northern half of the country with more isolated distribution in the south. Though usually found in eucalypt woodlands their range includes such diverse habitats as rainforest, mallee and mulga. Though widespread in the northern part of the country, two southern subspecies are under threat. The red-tailed black-cockatoo is listed as vulnerable on the schedules of the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act. Size 55-60 cm. |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
|
 |
|
| |
|
|
|
A pair of black Cockatoos in a Casuarina on Lammermoor Beach, the male has his back to us. As with most of our cockatoos and parrots they are gregarious and may congregate in large flocks but locally the flocks are small with about 15 to 20 birds. They spend a considerable amount of time grooming themselves and each other and seem to me to be affectionate, close-knit and happy birds, I feel quite sure there is a lesson for us in the way they conduct themselves. |
|
A female in a Beach Almond Appleton Park, Yeppoon, the birds mate for life with egg laying taking place from March to September in northern Australia in a fibre lined nest high in a Eucalypt. As they may live for up to 100 years it's salutary to consider the next time you see a pair that they may have been together for decades, a period commensurate with the more successful of human relationships. Click here for a larger photograph. |
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
A young Black-Cockatoo in a frivolous mood atop a cottonwood tree in Appleton Park, they mainly eat seeds but will also eat nuts, fruits, flowers and insects, in each of these photos they are in a food tree. The young males are driven out of the group by the male when the distinctive red stripes appear on their tail |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
