Today we have some lovely parrot photos by Scott Ritchie from Cairns in Oz (his Facebook page is here). Scott’s captions are indented, and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them.
And on to New South Wales. First stop, Eden. This is at the southeaster-most point where Australia turns north. The first night we drove down to the end of the beach along an elevated ridge. There, I heard the unmistakable almost cat-like call, but softer, of the Yellow tailed Black Cockatoo [Zanda funerea]. Here are some images I got of this small group that was feeding in Banksia seeds along the road. I particularly like the yellow cheek and the nice soft masklike feathers around their beak. There’s a story to tell here that will be given in the photos below.
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos (YTBC), love Banksia seeds:
Indeed, they become single-minded in their pursuit of these seeds. Taste pretty good:
But while they’re chewing away, there could be danger about. Raptors could suddenly appear from the sky and clean them up. Have them for dinner, literally:
These are smart group, smart birds that travel in small parties—perhaps a family group. And they usually have a sentinel bird. This bird perches high in a tree, eyes peeled for signs of trouble. He called out my presence straight away. He’s often calling by chirping away to his mates. Everything’s fine. Enjoy your meal. I particularly like the cute little mask that they wear over the bill. Reminds me of the Covid mask, the P95:
Anyway, the Cockeys continue to feed:
And they are loving it!:
All of a sudden the sentinel urgently calls. You can see his mask, pulled up even higher, with urgent calls “Warning, warning. Incoming. Take flight now.”:
And sudden suddenly off they go, flying as one right over my head!:
And who should fly by, who may have had his eyes on the cockies, but a White-bellied Sea-eagle [Icthyophaga leucogaster]. He passes behind and flies down the beach:
And is chased by a Masked Lapwing [Vanellus miles] screaming “stay away stay away!” The YTBC warning system worked!:
I love this style – almost like an interview on a “TV” show – Up Close And Personal 😆
Beautiful shots!
Interesting. It’s a team effort!
Great storyline withthe photos of interesting birds I haven’t seen before.
Wow. Even in Oz (Vic.) I’ve never seen a black cockie! Our neighbors had a white one as a pet (but my cat tore its head off… a bad day in the neighborhood) but I honestly thought they only come in white.
(Like the “black swan”, hehhe)
great pics mate,
D.A.
NYC
Yep, to me that one looks like just an average parrot with a different paint job, which made me wonder what the level of genetic diversity is between such birds, and whether we know enough yet to be able to produce a phylogenetic tree of them, with pix beside the labels. What I’m imagining is a tree with very short branches that might show dramatic differences in plumage here and there.
But I’ve never claimed to be an ornithologist.
It is amazing enough to see a drama like that play out, but to capture it in pictures is a real treat. Thanks for sharing.
Very cool! I did not know about this species.
I live in Hobart Tasmania and we tend to see the Black Tailed Yellow Cockatoos when there is bad weather in the highland regions, they seem to come down to sea level for respite.
If I walk under a Radiata Pine tree and see destroyed pinecones on the ground I know the black cockies have been to visit. The mainly white, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo is the common one around here and the pinecones are either too tough for them or not to their taste.
What a wonderful avian drama captured in a few gorgeous photos!
Great photos!
What beautiful birds! And beautifully shot and captioned. Thank you.
We live inland from Eden and both the Black Cockatoos and Lapwings are common. Interestingly, Lapwings lay their well camouflaged eggs out in open ground and the parents are highly active in protecting the eggs from mammals, large reptiles like Lace Monitors and other predatory birds such as the Sea Eagle. They make loud screeching noises and swoop at potential threats day and night. They also often use clever diversionary tactics to conceal the precise location of the egg clutch.