A female Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, one of a flock of about fifty feeding on the seeds of shrubs at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.



PS I hate what Flickr have done. They want to force people toward Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. If anyone wants to know, you get the BBCODE by clicking on the share icon, then the "pin" icon. I have no idea how a "pin" is supposed to relate to BBCode but there you have it.

[Cee Cee]

nice one Rob, sharp & detailed. Interesting bird, not one that I've seen before
cheers

[RobG]

nice one Rob, sharp & detailed. Interesting bird, not one that I've seen before

Thanks! Its range does extend into Victoria, but more around the coast. I've seen them a couple of times in the suburbs of Canberra - they like the cones of the pine plantations. I'm not sure where would be best in your part of Oz!

[Sailor]

I had no idea there was such thing as a black coo coo - terrific shot, Rob.

Jer

[p38arover]

I had no idea there was such thing as a black coo coo - terrific shot, Rob.

Jer

There are 5 different species of black cockies in Oz.

[slowpez]

First one of those I have seen. Nice shot.

[RobG]

I had no idea there was such thing as a black coo coo - terrific shot, Rob.

Thanks Jer!

There are 5 different species of black cockies in Oz.

Six if you include the Palm Cockatoo! Yep, Australia is the land of Parrots. Mind you I find it funny that three of the most common kinds of birds around the Federal capital these days are Drongoes, Galahs and Ravens. Some of them even have feathers!

First one of those I have seen. Nice shot.

Thanks Susan! I see a couple of them now and then, but fifty at a time is unusual. It was also really lucky that they were feeding in low shrubs, because usually they're high in pine trees or Acacias!

[sam-joseph]

I see them occasionally in flight, and what a majestic, lazy flight it is too.
Never seen one up close in the wild like this though. You've done well.

Regards

[OrchidJulie]

Most interesting! I had no idea, either, that there were any black cockatoos, never mind 5 species! My boss has an umbrella cockatoo (unbelievably noisy creature, drives us nuts some days), but she (?) is white-feathered. TFS!

[RobG]

Most interesting! I had no idea, either, that there were any black cockatoos, never mind 5 species! My boss has an umbrella cockatoo (unbelievably noisy creature, drives us nuts some days), but she (?) is white-feathered. TFS!

I hadn't heard of the Umbrella Cockatoo either! It's from Indonesia. We have a White Cockatoo in Australia as well - the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo. They're very common around Canberra, and quite destructive - they love to pull the rubber lining out of street lights.



---------- Post added 27-03-14 at 10:29 PM ----------

I see them occasionally in flight, and what a majestic, lazy flight it is too.
Never seen one up close in the wild like this though. You've done well.

Thanks Sam! I was really disappointed that I didn't have my video camera with me, because I really want a good recording of that awesome call - it sounds like something prehistoric.

[OrchidJulie]

...and quite destructive - they love to pull the rubber lining out of street lights.

I'm quite sure that my boss's cockatoo would be very destructive if given the opportunity... she (?) destroys new toys in very short order!

And regarding pulling rubber linings... this is a bit off-topic but for several years now there's been a big problem at one of the ranger stations in Everglades National Park...the turkey buzzards defacing cars in the parking lot by pulling wiper blades, gaskets and other auto trim. So bad that the rangers have a (limited) supply of tarps for visitors to use to cover their cars. I think we'll wait for turkey buzzard season to end before we go to that part of the park!

[RobG]

I'm quite sure that my boss's cockatoo would be very destructive if given the opportunity... she (?) destroys new toys in very short order!
And regarding pulling rubber linings... this is a bit off-topic but for several years now there's been a big problem at one of the ranger stations in Everglades National Park...the turkey buzzards defacing cars in the parking lot by pulling wiper blades, gaskets and other auto trim. So bad that the rangers have a (limited) supply of tarps for visitors to use to cover their cars. I think we'll wait for turkey buzzard season to end before we go to that part of the park!

I hadn't heard of that before! Seems it's common bird behaviour for some reason. Kea parrots in New Zealand also love to rip out rubber linings from windscreens and elsewhere on cars too.

[Westoz]

Really nice shot's Rob! We get the white Tail Blacks also called Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo and Red Tail Blacks they fly past every day but are darn hard to photograph.

[RobG]

Really nice shot's Rob! We get the white Tail Blacks also called Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo and Red Tail Blacks they fly past every day but are darn hard to photograph.

Yes, there's a lot of species unique to WA that I'd love to see! I once saw about 50 red tailed Black Cockatoos near Charters Towers in Queensland. The only Red Tailed Black Cockatoos near here are Glossy Black Cockatoos and they're quite rare, I believe.