Great Birding Moments #15 Long Billed Corellas

Long Billed Corellas

This great birding moment occured not in the field but at my computer. A few weeks ago we visited Laratinga Wetlands at Mt Barker in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia. It was a calm and mild evening and we had a cuppa and a few biscuits while sitting on a log placed near the water’s edge. There was the usual squadron of ducks, grebes and coots swimming about – or headed in our direction hoping for a tasty handout. (Word must be out that my wife’s Anzac biscuits are superb).

Long Billed Corellas

A small flock of Corellas flew in and landed on a nearby tree. “Little Corellas” was my immediate thought and wrote that in my notebook. It was only when I downloaded the photos to my computer that night that I realised that they were actually Long Billed Corellas. Oops. Never assume anything – check them out carefully. It’s a good rule of thumb when birding. I had momentarily lapsed into thinking that they were Littles when in fact both species are common in our state.

Related articles:

• Laratinga Wetlands, Mt Barker – includes a bird list.

• Great Birding Moments #14 Close Cockatoo Encounter

• Great Birding Moments #13 Sulphur Crested Cockatoos

• Galahs on Guard

• Little Corellas – about calls to cull the large numbers of corellas in parts of South Australia.

Updated November 2013.