We have photos from two readers today. The first is a batch from Sean Crawford, whose notes are indented:
I’ve attached some photos of the reed beds in the Norfolk Broads in England, taken from a boat. Aside from the reeds themselves, there are some swans. It’s an amazing habitat that can only be appreciated by boat.
And the swans [JAC: These look like mute swans, Cygnus olor]:
From reader Tim Anderson in Australia:
This magnificent creature is a male gang-gang cockatoo (Callocephalon fimbriatum), a relatively rare forest-dweller. Consider his magnificent topknot.
JAC: This is one of the few sexually dimorphic species of parrot. The female (below, photo from Wikipedia) lacks the bright head coloration and has a smaller crest:
If you want a nice gentle boating holiday through the Fens and Broads of Norfolk, I can recommend the Norfolk Broads.
Wonderful lighting on those reeds.
Hi. Yes Jerry: Mute Swans. We don’t have too many swan species in the UK.
We have some Black Swans (Cygnus atratus) in parks that have been brought over from Austalasia. We also have 2 rare visitors to the UK: Berwick’s Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii) and Whooper’s Swan (Cygnus cygnus).
I work at the Royal College of Physicians in Regent’s Park in London. The park is (very) lucky to have a pair of Whoopers that visit every year and are semi-resident.
The name gang-gang comes from a New South Wales Aboriginal language, probably from one of the coastal languages, although possibly from Wiradjuri. It is probably an onomatopoeic name.
You can hear the weird call here:
https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/4060
I love the kind of landscape shown in the first two photos. Beautiful.
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