Today I arrived home from a long overseas trip. An hour or so after getting home, I was delighted to hear the haunting calls of a group of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos. They came to visit our Old Man Banksia tree, which is currently covered in dried seed pods. A tasty snack for a cockatoo!

I love the comfortable nibbling noises the birds make. Every now and then they chatter to each other too, as you can hear towards the end of this next video:

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos are large birds, quite a lot bigger than the more common white cockatoo. They have a dignified, graceful presence. It feels like a privilege to have them drop by. We planted the Old Man Banksia (Banksia serrata)a few years ago, with the goal of feeding the local bird life. It looks like our plan is working.

Two of the birds flew up into a Sydney Red Gum that towers over our house, for a quiet grooming session. It’s cute how attentive the groomer is, even returning to her job when she notices that her companion still has an intractable itch. When she stops for the second time, he reprimands her and she returns to the task yet again.

The bird with the pinkish-red ring around his eye is the male. The females have grey eye rings and a lighter-coloured bill. Here’s a still shot of the male, looking content after a good grooming from his mate:

Common name: Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

Scientific name: Calyptorhynchus funereus

Approximate length: 65 cm

Date spotted: 20 October 2018 (Spring)

Location: Allambie Heights, NSW, Australia

The Sydney Red Gum (Angophora costata) is a beautiful tree. I took this shot of it a couple of weeks ago, when the rain was making interesting patterns on the bark: