Red Tailed black cockatoo
I remember the first time I saw one of these big birds close up. I was newly married and from a different state in Australia and didn't have these birds where I grew up.
In the backyard was an almond tree where a flock of these birds landed to eat the green almonds. Most of the birds flew away leaving one bird behind and calling out.
I presumed this was an injured bird as it let me get fairly close and I thought I should help it. As I reached out I saw it take a twig about the thickness of my little finger and bite it in half. At that, I decided, it wasn't injured at all. :O
The beaks are huge and powerful.
It wasn't long before the rest of the flock returned to bite all of the almonds in half and eat the half ripened kernels.
This bird was chewing on Allocasuarina fruit in a local reserve!
Photo: Jean July 2018
Red Tailed black cockatoo
I remember the first time I saw one of these big birds close up. I was newly married and from a different state in Australia and didn't have these birds where I grew up.
In the backyard was an almond tree where a flock of these birds landed to eat the green almonds. Most of the birds flew away leaving one bird behind and calling out.
I presumed this was an injured bird as it let me get fairly close and I thought I should help it. As I reached out I saw it take a twig about the thickness of my little finger and bite it in half. At that, I decided, it wasn't injured at all. :O
The beaks are huge and powerful.
It wasn't long before the rest of the flock returned to bite all of the almonds in half and eat the half ripened kernels.
This bird was chewing on Allocasuarina fruit in a local reserve!
Photo: Jean July 2018