Sulphur Crested Cockatoos

Sulphur Crested Cockatoos

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Posted 2022-09-29 by Neil Follettfollow
The sulphur-crested cockatoo is native to eastern Australia from Cape York to Tasmania.


Sulphur-crested cockatoos' distinctive raucous calls can be very loud. They are naturally curious, as well as very intelligent. They have adapted very well to European settlement in Australia and live in many urban areas.


Their raucous calls are always a reason to peer skywards where you are often greeted by a flock of them.


There is always a few stragglers which allow for individual photos of them.




On my many street walks in suburbia and on the fringe of suburbia, I have come across many cockatoos. Some are ground feeding while others are feeding safely on tree branches.






Often you will come across a lone cockatoo just sitting in a tree. You can easily miss them if you are not occasionally looking up.




Species that feed on the ground are very vulnerable to predator attacks. The cockatoo has evolved a behavioural adaptation to protect against this: whenever there is a flock on the ground, there is at least one high up in a tree (usually a dead tree), keeping guard. This is so well-known that it has even entered Australian slang: a person keeping guard for sudden police raids on illegal gambling gatherings is referred to as a cockatoo or cocky for short.


One very pleasant cockatoo surprise was on a park walk after heavy rain seeing several having a drink in a pool of water. Their reflections in the water were a photographer's delight.






When you come across a cocky sitting alone on an overhead wire or branch, it pays to watch them as they may suddenly decamp, giving some action photos.


More cocky action can be seen when they alight on wires, showing off their magnificent wings, often with a wingspan of just over one metre.




Despite their size, it amazes me the number of times I have seen cockatoos harassed by noisy miners, only a fraction of their size.


On one walk, I was surprised by black shapes moving within the green leaves of a front garden tree. The moving shapes were three yellow-tailed cockatoos, doing what yellow-tailed cockatoo do – pulling bark of tree limbs, looking for wood borers and tree grubs. It was delightful to watch them. Not sulphur crested, but cousins.


Sulphur crested cockatoos can live up to 70 years in captivity but only 20-40 years in the wild. If I were a cockatoo, I think I would prefer twenty years of freedom than seventy in a cage.



Advertisements for sulphur crested cockatoos on Gumtree range up to $800. For that price, you could buy many real gum trees and hope some cockatoos will visit.

#free
#outdoor
#victoria
#animals_wildlife
%wnmelbourne
101819 - 2023-06-12 09:45:18

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