Category Archives: Parrot
Juvenile Crimson Rosella in Hazelgrove, NSW
A group of four young Crimson Rosellas gathered around a cabin that I was staying in this weekend, in the region of Hazelgrove. That’s west of the Blue Mountains, about three hours’ drive from Sydney.
At first, it was difficult to identify the birds. Other Crimson Rosellas that I’ve seen are red and blue, like the one in my earlier post. After some research, I discovered that the juvenile birds are mostly green instead of red, though they do have the characteristic red and blue markings on their heads.
Here are two of the birds that I saw this weekend:
They were posing nicely on a rusty shed roof, for maximum warmth of colour!
Common name: Crimson Rosella
Scientific name: Platycercus elegans elegans
Approximate length: 35 cm
Date spotted: 15 April 2023 (autumn)
Approximate location: Hazelgrove, New South Wales, Australia (map)
Musk Lorikeet drops by
Very occasionally, we’re lucky enough to see Musk Lorikeets in the gum trees around our house. Today was such a day:
They’re pretty little parrots, with a clearly-defined red mask around their eyes. Their predominant colour is green, with tinges of red, blue, and yellow.
The more boldly-coloured Rainbow Lorikeets are frequent visitors. It’s a treat when I hear the slightly different trilling call of the Musk Lorikeets, grab my camera, and am rewarded with a view like the ones in this post.
The lorikeets come to drink the nectar from the gum tree flowers. Here’s another view of the same Musk Lorikeet:
Common name: Musk Lorikeet
Scientific name: Glossopsitta concinna
Approximate length: 23 cm
Date spotted: 3 April 2023 (autumn)
Location: Allambie Heights, New South Wales, Australia
3 parrots on one walk
A few days ago I went for a walk and saw three different types of parrots all within a few paces of each other. How amazing is that!
First up, a trio of King Parrots. Two were males, the other a female. This is one of the males:
King Parrots are quite large, at 44 cm from head to tail. The females have a lot more green in their colouring. I think they’re prettier than the males, with their softer shading:
This video shows all three of the birds enjoying the flowers of a Grevillea bush. First you see the two males together. Then one of them flies over to join the female on the other side of the bush:
In the trees around the parrots, the smaller Rainbow Lorikeets chattered and scolded. Here’s one in a more contemplative mood than most:
One of them stood still for a while to examine me, before launching itself in my direction then swerving at the last moment as they are wont to do:
At the next tree, a group of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos examined a tree hollow. Perhaps a good place to raise a family? But competition is fierce!
Here’s one of the cockatoos making a point about ownership, or perhaps just being its usual excited self:
The walk itself is lovely, starting in Balgowlah and winding along the coast of Sydney Harbour, with bushland and forest on one side:
And pretty views of the waters of Sydney Harbour on the other side:
The birds:
Common name: Australian King Parrot
Scientific name: Alisterus scapularis
Approximate length: 44 cm
Common name: Rainbow Lorikeet
Scientific name: Trichoglossus haematodus
Approximate length: 30 cm
Common name: Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Scientific name: Cacatua galerita
Approximate length: 50 cm
Date spotted: 26 November 2022 (spring)
Location: Near Forty Baskets beach, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia: 33°48’03.2″S 151°16’07.2″E
Red-rumped Parrots in Sydney Olympic Park
Today I saw my first Red-rumped Parrots! These are very pretty little parrots that spend their time foraging on the ground among the flowers or sitting high in the trees. The male is a spectacular turquoise in colour, while the female is a more demure brown and fawn.
This video shows a male and a female walking through the grass and flowers, occasionally popping up their heads to check what’s going on around them:
At times in the video you get a glimpse of the browny-red patch at the base of the male’s back, which gives them the name “red-rumped”.
I saw the parrots in the area around Newington Armory – formerly the Royal Australian Navy Armaments Depot – at Sydney Olympic Park. I was doing the guided bird walk, offered by the BirdLife Discovery Centre. The walk happens on the last Sunday of every month. It’s fun and a good way to get out, meet some people, and see some birds.
Here’s the male Red-rumped parrot:
And this is the female:
The next picture shows the male high in a tree, showing his colourful front:
Common name: Red-rumped Parrot
Scientific name: Psephotus haematonotus
Approximate length: 26-28 cm
Date spotted: 28 August 2022 (winter)
Location: Sydney Olympic Park, Newington, New South Wales, Australia: 33°49’40.4″S 151°03’56.8″E
Those magnificent black cockatoos are back!
For the past couple of years, a group of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos has visited our garden to snack on our Banksia tree when the seeds are ripe. This happens around May-June and again in October. It’s a real privilege to have such magnificent birds in the garden. At approximately 65 cm (more than 2 feet) from head to tail, they’re much larger than the more common white Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (50 cm).
The bird on the left is a female. Toward the end of the video, you see the male higher up in the tree (he’ll be near the top right), keeping watch. You can tell the male by the pinkish colour of the ring surrounding his eye.
The bird on the right at the start of the video (in the middle when all three birds are in view) is making a constant low crooning sound. I think the noisy one must be a juvenile, because I’ve noticed that the juvenile birds of many species keep up a constant noise, perhaps to reassure their parents that they’re still around. Early on in the video, the female on the left calls out in that lovely, wild squeal that’s characteristic of these birds. They also chitter companionably to each other throughout.
Here’s a still picture of the male:
The next video shows one of the birds (probably the female, though it might be the juvenile) tucking into a Banksia seed pod:
It’s funny to see how ruthless the bird is. She basically tears the dead flower apart, chucking bits onto the floor seemingly at random, until she finds a tasty morsel. Our neighbour was giggling from his verandah, from where he had a birds’ eye view of the feasting! Our garden quickly became littered with half-eaten seeds:
The tree is a Banksia serrata, also known as Old Man Banksia. See the marks of that huge beak on these seeds!
Here’s a closeup of a cockatoo on a seed pod:
The scientific name of these birds is Calyptorhynchus funereus. Evidently the funereus part of the name stems from the dark, somewhat gloomy colouring of the birds. George Shaw, the naturalist who first named the birds, thought that the colouring was suited to a funeral! The bird was even called the “funereal cockatoo” for a while.
There’s also some dispute in the birding community about whether these birds are actually part of the genus Calyptorhynchus. Some people group them into a different genus, Zanda, based on genetic diversity.
The next photo shows the bird that I think is a juvenile. With its beak feathers fluffed up, it seems to be sleepy or wanting attention!
A shot from the back gives a nice view of the crest on the bird’s head:
Common name: Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
Scientific name: Calyptorhynchus funereus or Zanda funereus
Length: 58-65 cm
Date spotted: 2nd and 3rd June 2022 (winter)
Location: Allambie Heights, NSW, Australia
Cockatoo sculpted by sunlight
It can be difficult to get a good photo of a white cockatoo, because they’re so uniformly white. My camera tends to treat them as an uninteresting blob of uniform colour, unless I can get really close to the bird. I was quite pleased with this shot. Even though the bird was high in a tree, the early morning sun glows nicely through the cockatoo’s yellow crest and adds contour to the bird’s body:
The video of the same cockie is also rather nice. The bird is screeching and waving its head around, as they often do. It’s having fun with a small pool of water in a tree hollow, dipping its beak in and throwing water droplets around:
Common name: Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Scientific name: Cacatua galerita
Approximate length: 50 cm
Date spotted: 3 April 2022 (autumn)
Location: Angophra Track, Balgowlah Heights, New South Wales, Australia: 33°48’20.9″S 151°16’17.8″E
Rainbow Lorikeets enjoying our Banksia flowers
One of our Banksia trees has covered itself in blooms. The local Rainbow Lorikeets are delighted. A delighted lorikeet is a noisy lorikeet! In fact, anyone who lives near these birds will tell you that a lorikeet in any type of mood is a noisy creature.
One day was quite breezy. I like this video because of the way the bird hangs on to the Banksia flower as it sways in the wind, and because you get a chance to see the bird’s colourful underside as well as its topside.
Here are a couple of the birds lurking on a nearby tree before making the hop down to the Banksia:
I’m so lucky to have these pretty, chatty little birds dropping in regularly to see what’s what.
Common name: Rainbow Lorikeet
Scientific name: Trichoglossus haematodus
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: November 2021 (spring)
Location: Australian east coast, about 20km north of Sydney
Eastern Rosella a frequent visitor
How lucky am I? This gorgeous bird has taken to dropping by frequently, and hanging out on our telephone line. It’s a male Eastern Rosella. Often the female comes along too, but she’s more shy and flies off when I appear.
Eastern Rosellas are medium-sized parrots, at about 30cm from head to tail. This one usually makes his presence known with a distinctive twittering call. The phone line is below the level of my lounge window, so he has to look up to spot me.
Common name: Eastern Rosella
Scientific name: Platycercus eximius
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: 10 April 2021 (autumn)
Location: Allambie Heights, NSW, Australia
3 Glossy Black-Cockatoos and a tale of a Brush-turkey and a Raven
Two days ago, I encountered a group of three Glossy Black-Cockatoos on a Casuarina tree. These large cockatoos are not a very common sight. When I noticed them, I stopped walking and said “ooh” out loud. Luckily there was no-one around to hear, and the birds ignored me!
While I was watching the cockatoos, a couple of other characters appeared and contributed to the encounter. Read the story below!
First, the glossies
This picture shows two of the Glossy Black-Cockatoos. They’re quite different in appearance from the more common Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos. The feather arrangement around the glossies’ necks and the general setting of their heads make me think of a lion:
I think the bird on the left is a female, as she has a lot of yellow around her head. The one on the right is, I think, a male.
In the video below, the birds are munching happily on Casuarina seed pods. About half way through the video (at around 50-53 seconds on the timeline) the birds mutter to each other in low-pitched raspy calls. This munching and muttering is typical of the birds’ behaviour.
Below is a solo shot of the first of the three birds. This one has a lot of yellow around its head, which means it’s probably a female:
Glossy Black-Cockatoos depend on Casuarina seeds for their food. This choosiness puts the birds at risk when the tree coverage is depleted by land clearance or bush fires. Casuarinas, also called sheoaks or she-oaks, are a group of trees and shrubs native to Australia and other Asian countries. Evidently the name Casuarina is derived from cassowary (a big bird) because the branches look like cassowary feathers.
Next comes a solo shot of the second of the three birds. I think this one is a male. The feathers around its head and neck are quite brown in comparison to the darker black feathers on the rest of its body. The bird is holding a Casuarina seed pod. You can also see a few of the tree’s tiny red flowers:
It’s a treat to see these unusual, gorgeous birds. Definitely a moment for oohing and aahing.
Unwell Glossy Black-Cockatoo – beak and feather disease?
One of the three cockatoos has an illness which has affected its beak. It may be Psittacine beak and feather disease, or some sort of cancer, or maybe the result of a fight or accident?
I didn’t notice the hole above the bird’s beak until I got the pictures home and put them on a big screen. The birds were quite a distance away, and I was using my camera’s super zoom to photograph them. But even from the long distance, I did think that the bird looked duller and more skeletal than the other two.
Poor bird, I hope the condition isn’t causing it too much discomfort.
Video featuring the female Glossy Black-Cockatoo
Here’s another video of two of the birds, this time featuring the female. Hint: At the start of the video you can hear a bit of thrashing around in the undergrowth. That background noise leads into the story below!
Common name: Glossy Black-Cockatoo
Scientific name: Calyptorhynchus lathami
Approximate length: 50cm
Date spotted: 18 September 2020 (spring)
Location: Manly Dam Park, near Sydney: 33°46’55.0″S 151°15’10.1″E
A tale of a Brush-turkey and an Australian Raven
If you listen carefully in the first half of the above video, you’ll hear a bit of a kerfuffle in the background. I heard it too, and turned to look when I stopped filming. I saw an Australian Brush-turkey flapping around among the trees a few metres away from me. “Ah, just a brush-turkey,” I thought, and turned back to the cockatoos. Brush-turkeys seem to specialize in making a fuss about nothing.
The kerfuffle turned into a whoosh of large wings, followed by a downdraft of air and the sound of claws on metal. I turned around again, to discover that the brush-turkey had landed on a gate less than two metres away from me. (The gate was one of those that the authorities use to close the park when the danger of bush fires is critical.)
“Hallo, mate,” said I. “What are you up to?” I do talk to birds when they approach me, partly to make us both feel comfortable.
The brush-turkey look at me, then teetered slightly and looked down at the ground with some apprehension. They do that, when they’re off the ground. They’re no doubt thinking, “I got myself up here, but now that ground is a long way down. How do I get down there?”
Two seconds later, a large, fierce Australian Raven arrived. Eyes ice blue. Beak long, strong, and pointy. Being the focus of that glare is rather daunting, even if you’re a large human.
The raven glared at me. I stood my ground. One point five metres of empty space between me and that beak.
The raven decided I wasn’t a threat, and turned its attention back to the brush-turkey. Obviously, the raven wanted to continue the altercation that had been the cause of all that kerfuffle in the trees.
The brush-turkey looked at the raven, looked at me, and hopped off the gate. A few hurried steps, and it was at my feet. It got as close to my knees as it could, then started walking round my legs. When it comes to a choice between a raven and me, it seems I’m a safe haven.
The raven looked thoroughly peeved. It leapt into the air and spotted the Glossy Black-Cockatoos, who were still peacefully munching and muttering in the Casuarinas. With a caw and a swoop, the raven dislodged the glossies. They floated into the air with easy grace, and came to land again a few trees away. “Ah, ravens,” the glossies were no doubt thinking. “They seem to specialize in making a fuss about nothing.”
The brush-turkey was still jittering around my legs. I wanted to continue filming the cockatoos, so I waited for a gap in the brush-turkey’s circle, and strode out along the path towards the cockatoos’ new roosting area.
Within a second, I heard the tick-tick-tick of brush-turkey claws on the path. The turkey had decided to stay with its safe haven for a while, in case that nasty bird with the ice-blue eyes and big strong beak came back.
So there we were, the cockatoos munching and muttering, I oohing and aahing, and the brush-turkey click-clacking companionably at my heels.
I wish I’d got all of that on camera! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story. 🙂
Here are a couple of pics of a brush-turkey and a raven, though these are not the same birds that appear in this story.
Rainbow Lorikeet feeding on Banksia flower
Rainbow Lorikeets have a brush-shaped tongue, which they use to lick nectar off flowers. This little lorikeet is feeding on a Heath Banksia flower:
Common name: Rainbow Lorikeet
Scientific name: Trichoglossus haematodus
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: 6 June 2020 (winter)
Location: Allambie Heights Heath Walk, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’08.3″S 151°14’45.7″E
Sydney Birder 