Princess Parrot
Princess Parrot, Adelaide Zoo
The Princess Parrot of inland Australia is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful of our large array of beautiful parrots. Sadly I have not seen this species in its natural environment, but I have seen it many times in captivity. It is a very popular aviary bird and breeding pairs can be quite expensive, such is the demand.
I took this photo recently through the wire mesh of an aviary at the Adelaide Zoo. Although it is not a brilliant photo I was shooting through black wire mesh so it is reasonable I guess.
The Princess Parrot – also known as Alexandra’s Parrot – is very much a bird of inland Australia where it is quite rare. Any sighting is exciting and notable. Its natural range covers much of NW South Australia, SW Northern Territory and eastern Western Australia. In this range it is highly nomadic, often being absent from any one area for many years until reappearing suddenly in response to good conditions.
That’s not a bird!
Long-nosed Potoroo, Adelaide Zoo
On my visit to the Adelaide Zoo last week I spent some time in a walk through aviary. I wanted to get some more photos of the birds in their collection so I could share them here.
After several minutes in the enclosure my attention was drawn to the wooden walkway I was on. A small furry creature had jumped up on the walkway and came to investigate my shoes. It was a Long-nosed Potoroo, a small Australian mammal the size of a rabbit. He sniffed quite deliberately all around my shoes before hopping off to get a rub and a scratch from some children who had just entered the aviary.
This species of potoroo is found in Tasmania and in small numbers on the mainland, mainly coastal NSW and Victoria. It is not entirely nocturnal (unlike many of our mammals) and lives on fungi, insects, seeds, fruit, and vegetation.
Now to appease the birders who come to this site, here are two photos of birds I took only a minute or so before the potoroo came into my life.
Female Eclectus Parrot, Adelaide Zoo
Male Eclectus Parrot, Adelaide Zoo
A bird in the hand
I had to laugh at a line in a regular column in our daily newspaper this morning.
‘A bird in the hand is safer than one overhead.’
I disagree.
Yes – sure – I’ve been pooped on from above on a number of occasions. The most memorable of these was twice in the space of a few minutes while exploring the streets of Kathmandu in Nepal.
But having a bird in the hand is no guarantee of safety. I’ve handled a few birds over the years, including in aviaries and birds in our garden stunned from flying into windows. I’ve been pooped on the hand more than once from nervous birds.
Most birds have rather sharp claws and small parrots have needle like bills. I have never handled a larger parrot, one such as a Galah, without some form of protection for my hands. I reckon that our large black cockatoos would do some serious damage to a finger given half a chance. I prefer not to test out that theory.
Being pooped upon is only one of the hazards of being around birds. Some birds are very cantankerous given the right circumstances. A few years ago I wrote a long article about dealing with aggressive bird behaviour. It has proved to be one of the most popular articles on this blog.
Happy birding.
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Sulphur Crested Cockatoos
Galahs in Tintinara
Galah, Tintinara, SE South Australia
On my recent visit to Tintinara in the upper south east region of South Australia I went for a drive around town checking out the local birds. At several points I stopped to take some photos. The shot above of a Galah perched in a gum tree lit by the early morning sunshine is rather pleasing to the eye. It’s almost as if it was posing for me.
I’m not sure if it is a male or female. Even enlarging the photo digitally I can’t see if the eye is brown (male) or red (female). Going by the rich colours of the breast feathers, I’d say it is probably a male. It also looks like it is perching near a hollow; perhaps it is where he and his mate nested during the recent breeding season. There was another Galah a little higher up in the tree.
Further reading:
- Possible Galah nesting attempt – in our garden
- Galahs nesting?
- Galah
Long-billed Corellas, Tintinara
Long-billed Corellas, Tintinara, SE South Australia
On my recent visit to Tintinara in the upper SE of South Australia I took a drive around the streets. On every other visit to this town I had just driven through except once when we stopped for a toilet break. I occasionally do some deliveries for a local courier so I took this opportunity – after I’d delivered the urgent parcel for the veterinarian – to look around the town and see if I could spot any interesting birds, and perhaps get some good shots.
On the grassy verge of the main road near the oval I saw several Long-billed Corellas feeding on the grass. Several Galahs added to the number. I just pointed the camera out of the window and took the photos on this page. The photos are not very good as I shot them quite quickly. The corellas were a little flighty, and when I tried to get closer by getting out of the car, they flew away. I also saw a small flock feeding on the cones of a pine tree near the oval, but couldn’t get close enough to photograph them.
Long-billed Corellas are found throughout most of south-eastern South Australia, western Victoria and into the Riverina region of NSW. In some other areas there are feral flocks which established themselves via escapes from aviaries, or deliberate release.
I’ve personally not recorded this species here in Murray Bridge where we get large, noisy flocks of the very common Little Corella.
Long-billed Corellas, Tintinara, SE South Australia
Long-billed Corellas, Tintinara, SE South Australia
Further reading: