Cheeky Character

This is the Eastern Long-billed Corella Cacatua tenuirostris

Unfortunately this species is now well established around Perth and on the southerly Swan Coastal Plain to Busselton. It is characterised by having a very long upper bill and its whole face is bright orange-red and it has a bright red neck giving it a cut throat appearance. This introduced species (derived from aviary escapees around Perth) is a major threat to our endemic corellas (the western long-bill has all but disappeared from the Perth area - where it was once prevalent), and black cockatoos by out-competing for nest sites, their ability to remove eggs from the nest hollow and to kill and maim advanced nestlings. There is now urgent management needed in the Perth region and on the Swan Coastal Plain to control this introduced pest species.

A wing tagging project has been set up by the Department of Environment and Conservation to monitor their behavior and movements. None of the guys I saw this afternoon had wing tags - but I'm constantly looking!

Despite all this I can't help but smile when I watch them get up to their antics in the flock - they are just such comical birds!