Long-billed Corella
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© Maureen Goninan
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Cacatua
- Species
- tenuirostris
- Family
- Cacatuidae
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Class
- Aves
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Size Range
- Up to 41 cm.
Medium-sized, white stocky body with a distinctive long upper bill and pale grey/blue eye ring.
Identification
A medium-sized white cockatoo with a short crest (not always visible), short tail, stocky body and a distinctive long upper bill. Faint yellowish wash on the undersides of its wings and tail; orange-red splashes on its forehead and throat; and an orange-red crescent across its upper breast. Eye ring is pale grey-blue.
Habitat
Grassy woodlands and grasslands, including pasture and crops, as well as parks in urban areas.
Distribution
South-eastern Australia.
Feeding and diet
It is a conspicuous and gregarious bird; often seen foraging in large flocks on the ground.
Communication
Its call is a loud, quavering, two-syllable 'wulluk-wulluk' or 'cadillac-cadillac', as well as a harsh screech.
Breeding behaviours
Forms monogamous pairs and both parents prepare the nest, incubate the eggs and feed the young. Nests are made in the hollows of large old eucalypts, and sometimes in cavities of loose gravelly cliffs. The eggs are laid on a lining of decayed wood.
