Tuesday 2 August 2011

World Bird Wednesday - Red-Tailed Black Cockatoos

I’ve been wanted to get a really good look at these cockatoos for a while – I’d seen then before, but only from a distance, or when they flushed from the roadside. So seeing Red-Tailed Black Cockatoos close up, most days for a week was a real treat.

The first one I saw landed on a cable of some kind as we were having an ice-cream. People actually stopped to look at me, rather than look at the bird. I’ve seen myself in the mirror enough to know they were making a mistake.



Back to the bird! The birds with the pale beaks and stripped tails are females. The dark bill and solid red patch are the males. They have a wing span of well over 1m and they are very talkative! Standing under a tree with a flock of these birds feeding in it is like being outside in a hail storm. There is a constant rain of seeds, bits of bark and other trashed plant parts constantly falling from the trees. I have to say, it worth putting up with!


You can find more world birds here, and you can see the latest post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention link on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the birds.

22 comments:

  1. What a treat!! I'd love to see them. Maybe someday! ~karen

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  2. Cockatoos are totally exotic to me!

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  3. how neat! love that last shot of the red flash of tail!

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  4. What a neat looking bird and love that flash of red on its tail. Wonderful bird and photos. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Beautiful birds to see. Lovely images

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  6. Whow, that's some wingspan. Lovely shots.

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  7. Great looking birds Stewart,
    And what a headdress!

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  8. Spectacular bird Stewart, I can hardly believe it's real. I hope everyone is clicking to enlarge these great shots, the plumage is magnificent!

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  9. Stewart, were these in Q'lnd? I have only ever seen red-tialed blacks in the inland. We have yellow tailed ones on Mt.Lofty though and rarely here on the farm.

    Thank you for doing the verification for me, much appreciated.

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  10. Wow! I can't even imagine just seeing something like these birds casually perched on a wire. I would put up with any amount of dropped seed for that privilege. Amazing -- I did enlarge them!

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  11. Great photos, Stewart. I have only seen these birds briefly as they flew up from the roadside.

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  12. Cockatoos, exotic birds, they look beautiful.
    Great photos!!

    Have a nice day
    oa.s

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  13. Beautiful shots, Stewart! What a spectacular bird. I love the one of the two with the tree in the background - such a contrast!

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  14. What a hat!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  15. Thanks for verifying my ID. My ID's sometimes are more of the IDiot variety.

    Thanks again . . . Arija

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  16. I think they need a comb! Great shots of these guys!

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  17. Great photos of those amazing birds!

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  18. I am still trying to get photos of Red-tailed Black Cockatoos they only seem to fly over our area.

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  19. I understand why you wanted to see them. They really look cool with that "hairdo" on the head. And nice tails too. Great shots and thanks for sharing them. :)

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  20. Your Birds are always MAJOR amazing! IT must be crazy watching them...1M wingspan..thats huge!!
    Truly awesome shots.

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  21. Great captures! They are beautiful birds with their magnificent crests and red tails!

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  22. It is a treat to see your captures of this unusual bird!

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