Corella
Corella
(Cacatua pastinator)
Also called Bare-eyed Cockatoo and Blood stained cockatoo.
Description: Mostly white, with a fleshy blue eye-ring and a pale rose-pink patch between the eye and bill. In flight, a bright Sulphur-yellow wash can be seen on the underwing and under tail. Short erectile crest. Males and females are similar in plumage.
Corellas often indulge in an activity that is uncommon in the bird world because they like to play.
Sometimes they slide down the steep roofs of wheat silos, falling off the edge and then flying back to the top to slide down again.
They often hang upside down or dangle below the perch.
Size: 35-40cm
Voice: Low short 2-note
Feeding: on seeds of grasses and other plants – also on bulbs and roots.
Habitat: Favours open plains, savannahs, and farmland forming large flocks. Roosts in flocks, close to water
Location: Common and widespread across mainland Australia – however absent from the driest areas in WA and SA. Expanding into coastal area in eastern and southern Australia.
Nests: In a hole in a tree, occasionally in a hollow in a large termite mound.
Eggs: Usually 3, white
Breeding: August to October
Acknowledgements: www.Birdlife.org.au Field Guide to the Birds of Australia: Simpson and Day, A Naturalists Guide to the Birds of Australia: Dean Ingwersen National Geographic, What Bird is that?: Neville W Cayleys, www.birdsinbackyards.net, https://www.xeno-canto.org/species