Long-billed corella | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Psittaciformes |
Family: | Cacatuidae |
Genus: | Cacatua |
Subgenus: | Licmetis |
Species: | C. tenuirostris |
Binomial name | |
Cacatua tenuirostris (Kuhl, 1820) | |
The long-billed corella or slender-billed corella [2] (Cacatua tenuirostris) is a cockatoo native to Australia, which is similar in appearance to the little corella. [3] This species is mostly white, with a reddish-pink face and forehead, and has a long, pale beak, which is used to dig for roots and seeds. It has reddish-pink feathers on the breast and belly.
The long-billed corella does not have any recognized subspecies. [4] The first formal written description was by German naturalist Heinrich Kuhl in 1820. [4] It is one of several related species of cockatoos called corellas and classified in the subgenus Licmetis within the genus Cacatua , members of which are known as "white cockatoos".
The adult long-billed corella measures from 38 to 41 cm in length, [5] has a wingspan around 80–90 cm, and averages 567 g in weight. [5] It has a long, bone-coloured beak, and a rim of featherless, bluish skin around the eyes. The plumage is predominantly white with reddish feathers around the eyes and lores. The underside of the wings and tail feathers are tinged with yellow.
The long-billed corella can be found in the wild in Victoria and southeastern New South Wales. It has extended its range since the 1970s into Melbourne, Victoria [6] and can now be found in Tasmania, [7] South Australia [8] and southeast Queensland. [9] A feral population resides in Perth, Western Australia as of the mid-1980s, [10] which has conservation implications as this species may hybridize with the endangered western corella.
The long-billed corella is found in grassy woodlands and grasslands, including pasture, fields of agricultural crop, and urban parks. [5]
The call of the long-billed corella is a quick, quavering, falsetto currup!, [3] wulluk-wulluk, or cadillac-cadillac combined with harsh screeches. [5]
Breeding generally takes place in Austral winter to spring (from July to November). [3] Long-billed corellas form monogamous pairs and both sexes share the task of building the nest, incubating the eggs, and caring for the young. [5] Nests are made in decayed debris, [3] the hollows of large old eucalypts, and occasionally in the cavities of loose gravely cliffs. [5] 2–3 dull white, oval eggs [3] are laid on a lining of decayed wood. [5] The incubation period is around 24 days and chicks spend about 56 days in the nest. [5]
The long-billed corella typically digs for roots, seeds, corms, and bulbs, especially from the weed onion grass. [3] Native plants eaten include murnong Microseris lanceolata , but a substantial portion of the bird's diet now includes introduced plants. [5]
Long-billed corellas are now popular as pets in many parts of Australia, [11] although they were formerly uncommon, and their captive population has stabilised in the last decade. This may be due to their ability to mimic words and whole sentences to near perfection. The long-billed corella has been labeled the best "talker" of the Australian cockatoos, and possibly of all native Psittacines.[ citation needed ]
Long-billed corellas are viewed as agricultural pests, particularly in western Victoria and Western Australia. They can cause significant crop damage, are known for tearing and playing with pieces of asphalt along roadsides, and even damaging power lines. Permits are regularly issued in Western Australia (and sometimes in Victoria) for the culling of this species. Within New South Wales, the corellas are the most common avian pest among sporting fields and golf courses, as they can dig holes in the ground up to 3 in across and 6 in deep. [5]
In July 2019, in a scene that was said to resemble a "horror movie", [12] [13] about 60 corellas in Adelaide, South Australia, [14] died in a suspected case of poisoning after "falling from the sky" wailing and bleeding from their mouths. At least 57 (95%) of the 60 birds were long-billed corellas, with a few short-billed corellas. It was hoped that whoever poisoned them could be traced, after toxicology tests were performed (which could nevertheless take several weeks to complete); in Australia, people are required to register if they purchase poisons, according to Sarah King (founder of Casper's Bird Rescue, who witnessed the deaths). [15] King also said that the poison was a slow-release variety that takes several painful weeks to kill the bird. Additionally, the local Alexandrina council had, previously, allowed for periodic culling of short-billed corellas due to crop damage, chewing on streetlights and wires, damaging infrastructure (such as buildings and sporting equipment), and unfairly outcompeting other native species of birds, insects, small mammals, and other organisms. [13]
A cockatoo is any of the 21 species of parrots belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea and the Strigopoidea, they make up the order Psittaciformes. The family has a mainly Australasian distribution, ranging from the Philippines and the eastern Indonesian islands of Wallacea to New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Australia.
The Tanimbar corella, also known as Goffin's cockatoo, is a species of cockatoo endemic to forests of Yamdena, Larat and Selaru, all islands in the Tanimbar Islands archipelago in Indonesia. It has been introduced to the Kai Islands, Indonesia, Puerto Rico and Singapore. This species was only formally described in 2004, after it was discovered that the previous formal descriptions pertained to individuals of a different cockatoo species, the Ducorps' or Solomons cockatoo. Tanimbar corellas are the smallest of the white cockatoos. It is classified as Near Threatened due to deforestation and bird trade. It breeds well in captivity and there is a large avicultural population.
Major Mitchell's cockatoo, also known as Leadbeater's cockatoo or the pink cockatoo, is a medium-sized cockatoo that inhabits arid and semi-arid inland areas of Australia, though it is seen regularly in other climates, for example, South-East Queensland's subtropical region.
The great knot is a small wader. It is the largest of the calidrid species. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific tenuirostris is from Latin tenuis "slender" and rostrum "bill".
The yellow-tailed black cockatoo is a large cockatoo native to the south-east of Australia measuring 55–65 cm (22–26 in) in length. It has a short crest on the top of its head. Its plumage is mostly brownish black and it has prominent yellow cheek patches and a yellow tail band. The body feathers are edged with yellow giving a scalloped appearance. The adult male has a black beak and pinkish-red eye-rings, and the female has a bone-coloured beak and grey eye-rings. In flight, yellow-tailed black cockatoos flap deeply and slowly, with a peculiar heavy fluid motion. Their loud, wailing calls carry for long distances. The whiteae is found south of Victoria to the East of South Australia and is smaller in size. The yellow-tailed black cockatoo is found in temperate forests and forested areas across south and central eastern Queensland to southeastern South Australia, including a very small population persisting in the Eyre Peninsula. Two subspecies are recognised, although Tasmanian and southern mainland populations of the southern subspecies xanthanotus may be distinct enough from each other to bring the total to three. Birds of subspecies funereus have longer wings and tails and darker plumage overall, while those of xanthanotus have more prominent scalloping.
The galah, also known as the pink and grey cockatoo or rose-breasted cockatoo, is the only species within genus Eolophus of the cockatoo family. Found throughout Australia, it is among the most common of the cockatoos. With its distinctive pink and grey plumage and its bold and loud behaviour, it is a familiar sight in the wild and increasingly in urban areas. It has adapted well to urban expansion, and appears to be replacing the Major Mitchell's cockatoo in parts of its range.
The white cockatoo, also known as the umbrella cockatoo, is a medium-sized all-white cockatoo endemic to tropical rainforest on islands of Indonesia. When surprised, it extends a large and striking head crest, which has a semicircular shape. The wings and tail have a pale yellow or lemon color which is exposed when they fly. It is similar to other species of white cockatoo such as yellow-crested cockatoo, sulphur-crested cockatoo, and salmon-crested cockatoo, all of which have yellow, orange or pink crest feathers instead of white.
The red-vented cockatoo, also known as the Philippine cockatoo and locally katala, abukay, agay or kalangay, is a species of cockatoo. It is endemic to the Philippines though pressured by various environmental degradation and illegal pet trades, the population of the Philippine cockatoo is somehow growing owing to Katala Organization.It is roughly the size and shape of the Tanimbar corella, but is easily distinguished by the red feathers around the vent. It is threatened by habitat loss and the cage-bird trade.
The sulphur-crested cockatoo is a relatively large white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia, New Guinea, and some of the islands of Indonesia. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being considered pests. A highly intelligent bird, they are well known in aviculture, although they can be demanding pets.
The Solomons cockatoo, also known as the Ducorps's cockatoo, Solomons corella or broad-crested corella, is a species of cockatoo endemic to the Solomon Islands archipelago. This small white cockatoo is larger than the Tanimbar corella yet smaller than the umbrella cockatoo. The species is common across most of the Solomons, absent only from Makira in the south. It inhabits lowland rainforests, secondary forests, cleared areas and gardens.
The little corella, also known as the short-billed corella, bare-eyed cockatoo, blood-stained cockatoo, and little cockatoo is a white cockatoo native to Australia and southern New Guinea. It was known as Birdirra among the Yindjibarndi people of the central and western Pilbara. They would keep them as pets, or traditionally cook and eat them. The downy feathers are used in traditional ceremonies and dances where they adorn head and armbands.
The eastern spinebill is a species of honeyeater found in south-eastern Australia in forest and woodland areas, as well as gardens in urban areas of Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Hobart. It is around 15 cm long, and has a distinctive black, white and chestnut plumage, a red eye, and a long downcurved bill.
The blue-eyed cockatoo is a large, mainly white cockatoo about 50 cm (20 in) long with a mobile crest, a black beak, and a light blue rim of featherless skin around each eye that gives this species its name.
The western corella also known as the western long-billed corella, is a species of white cockatoo endemic to south-western Australia.
Licmetis is a subgenus of the white cockatoos. They are collectively known as corellas in Australia. Three of the six species are primarily – or only – found in Australia, while the Philippines, Indonesia, and the Solomons each have an endemic species. They are relatively small cockatoos and – unlike the members of the subgenus Cacatua – all have pale bills. While most show yellow-tinged underwings and some red to the face, none has conspicuously coloured crests.
Butler's corella is a medium-sized white cockatoo endemic to Western Australia. It is one of two subspecies of the western corella.
Muir's corella is a stocky, medium-sized white cockatoo endemic to Western Australia. It was the threatened nominate subspecies of the western corella. It was removed from the WA's threatened species list in November 2012 as a result of successful conservation efforts.
The Triton cockatoo is one of the four subspecies of the sulphur-crested cockatoo. The cockatoo was first described by Dutch zoologist, Coenraad Jacob Temminck, in 1849. There is no documentation as to why Temminck selected this name however it is suggested that it was named after the Dutch corvette, Triton, which operated off the Dutch New Guinea coastline, in 19th century.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) Media related to Cacatua tenuirostris at Wikimedia Commons