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Red-rumped Parrots in Merriwa and Denman
Recently, I spent a couple of days in the area around Denman and Merriwa, New South Wales. The bird life there is abundant, with some birds that we don’t see in my area (the eastern coast near Sydney). Among those are Red-rumped Parrots. This is my second sighting of these birds, and this week I was lucky enough to see three groups of them.
My first sighting was in Denman, in the early morning when the lighting was too dim for good photographs. I’ve posted just one photograph, because it’s my only shot of a female Red-rumped Parrot:
In Merriwa, the birds were busy in the middle of the day, when the lighting was much brighter. First, a video of a male bird foraging amongst the grass stalks:
Here’s a still photo of the same male bird:
Red-rumped Parrots get their name from the red patch on their backs, near the base of the tail. This photo shows the red rump nicely:
These little parrots are small and hard to spot when they’re on the ground. Often, all that you see is an eye looking at you:
Common name: Red-rumped Parrot
Scientific name: Psephotus haematonotus
Approximate length: 26-28 cm
Date spotted: 12 September 2025 (spring)
Location: Merriwa, New South Wales, Australia: 32°08’18.7″S 150°20’58.8″E
Wild cockatoos come up close for a chat
This morning, I was out for a walk in the bush near Sydney, Australia, when I spotted two Sulphur-crested Cockatoos on a bush overhanging the path. As I came along the path, I spoke softly to the birds, as I often do. It’s partly because they’re so friendly-looking (anthropomorphism, I know!) and partly in the hope that I won’t scare them unduly. Many birds seem to respond well to being spoken to.
When I was close, the two cockatoos glided down to join their mates on the bank of a creek just below. I crouched down to take some photos. After a couple of minutes, the group of birds fluttered up and joined me on my rocky outcrop. They were on the ground next to me, just a foot or so away. It was a lovely, though slightly daunting, experience.
In the video, you can hear some Grey Fantails and a Golden Whistler, as well as the cockatoos.
Here’s one of the cockatoos on the bush overhanging the path, before the bird dropped down to join the gang on the bank of the creek. It’s enjoying an Acacia seed pod:
Common name: Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Scientific name: Cacatua galerita
Approximate length: 50 cm
Date spotted: 29 August 2025 (winter)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’50.9″S 151°14’52.3″E
Learning how to be a Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
Strolling along a path at Manly Dam, I came across a group of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos. It’s always a treat being with these birds. They’re the quiet giants of the cockatoos in south eastern Australia. They sit on Banksia trees or, in this case, Casuarinas, chewing the seeds and chuntering to each other. Occasionally, one of the birds floats up into the air and glides to another branch.
In the group were two juveniles, making that almost-constant crooning noise that characterises them. I think it’s partially a request for food, and partially a reminder to the adult birds of where the little ones have got too.
This youngster hasn’t quite figured out what to do with a Casuarina seed pod. He finds one on the ground, touches it to his beak, then drops it. Nearby, an adult shows him how it’s done:
A little later, the youngster has climbed into a tree. Instead of tackling those hard seed pods, though, he practices wielding his beak on the bark:
Common name: Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
Scientific name: Calyptorhynchus funereus or Zanda funereus
Length: 58-65 cm
Date spotted: 24 July 2025 (winter)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’42.5″S 151°14’59.1″E
Crimson Rosella looking gorgeous
This stunning Crimson Rosella was browsing on the seeds of a gum tree late one afternoon. We were at the Macquarie Woods Forestry Reserve Campground, to the west of the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. These parrots are quite common in eastern Australia. Even so, their beauty is always amazing.
This bird is a male, with his purple and crimson colouring. The females have more green on their bodies and wings, like the one I saw a few months ago in Whitfield, Victoria.
Common name: Crimson Rosella
Scientific name: Platycercus elegans elegans
Approximate length: 35 cm
Date spotted: 16 May 2025 (autumn)
Location: Macquarie Woods Forestry Reserve Campground, Vittoria, NSW, Australia: 33°24’29.0″S 149°18’41.8″E
Little Corella enjoying a snack
This Little Corella was one of a group enjoying a tasty snack (fruit from a nearby fir tree of some kind):
People have a love-hate with these birds. On the one hand, corellas are cute, pretty, and smart. On the other hand, they’re noisy and fiendishly good at destroying property!
Common name: Little Corella
Scientific name: Cacatua sanguinea
Approximate length: 36-39 cm
Date spotted: 22 April 2025 (autumn)
Location: Balgowlah, New South Wales, Australia: 33°47’57.2″S 151°15’50.9″E
A row of cockatoos and one raven
The arrival of the raven: It’s pouring with rain. Several Sulphur-crested Cockatoos line up on the wall of Manly Dam. Clumping together for company in the dismal weather. An Australian Raven joins the line-up. The cockatoos eye the interloper up and down, but don’t make too much of a fuss. Some of them get bored and head for a nearby tree:
Off camera: A runner arrives and the rest of the cockatoos depart for the tree. The raven doesn’t budge. Another raven arrives.
The return of the cockatoos: They need to reclaim their perch! The strategy seems to be simply to pile into the line-up until it becomes too uncomfortable for the ravens. One raven departs quickly, the other sticks it out for a while, then decides to retreat to a higher roost and gaze down at the silly, squawking cockatoos:
Common name: Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Scientific name: Cacatua galerita
Approximate length: 50 cm
Common name: Australian Raven
Scientific name: Corvus coronoides
Approximate length: 50 cm
Date spotted: 28 March 2025 (autumn)
Location: Manly Dam, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’55.3″S 151°15’20.1″E
Beautiful female Crimson Rosella
In my recent travels in the Victorian High Country, I came across a gorgeous female Crimson Rosella. She was a little coy. It was great to see her looking so colourful and smart, as the females often look a little dowdy in comparison to the males.
It was interesting to see the greyish colour around her eye, where my bird book shows a continuation of the yellow-green of the head and back.
The next morning, I saw another female which might or might not have been the same bird. An early morning stretch shows off her gorgeous plumage:
Nibbling a bit of breakfast:
Common name: Crimson Rosella
Scientific name: Platycercus elegans elegans
Approximate length: 35 cm
Date spotted: 17-18 February 2025 (summer)
Location: Whitfield, Victoria, Australia: 36°45’43.2″S 146°24’53.4″E
Gang-gang Cockatoos on a river bank
I’ve been in the Victorian High Country for the last few days. This part of the state of Victoria features gorgeous countryside, steep mountain sides, deep valleys, and wide rivers.
In this lovely setting, I spotted my first Gang-gang Cockatoos. It was a great pleasure and privilege to see a group of these quiet birds feeding and chatting in the early morning. Gang-gangs are on the endangered list, considered to be at high risk of extinction in the wild.
In this video, a female Gang-gang Cockatoo stands on a rock at the edge of the Mitta Mitta River, nibbling at the water weeds. It was early morning, and the light was dim. I’d heard the odd creaky noises that this bird and her companions were making, and went to investigate. To make the video, I stood on a footbridge over the river at Taylor’s Crossing Campground.
I love the noises that these birds make. A mix of creaks and growls. It was the sound that led me to investigate, like a cross between the call of a raven and the squawk of a cockatoo. You can hear some of the bird’s soft creaks at the start of the above video.
The name “gang-gang” comes from the Wiradjuri language, and maybe from other Aboriginal Australian languages too. It’s most likely an onomatopoeic word, echoing the noises that the birds make.
It also interesting to see a cockatoo eating a water weed. She chewed through the entire long strand, consuming the whole thing with evident enjoyment.
There were four Gang-gangs at the river: two females, an adult male, and a juvenile male. My photos are a bit fuzzy, due to the early morning dimness.
Here’s the adult male, with his bright red head and crest:
The next photo shows an immature male. The red on his head and crest is just starting to come in. (Ignore the red leaf at the end of the bird’s tail):
Here’s a photo of the female down on the river bank:
Her wispy crest is a soft grey, a bit like a feather duster:
Common name: Gang-gang Cockatoo
Scientific name: Callocephalon fimbriatum
Approximate length: 33-36 cm
Date spotted: 25 February 2025 (summer)
Location: Taylors Crossing Campground, Mitta Mitta River, Victorian High Country, Australia: 36°49’33.7″S 147°39’40.6″E
King Parrots amongst Grevillea flowers
On a recent walk in the bush, I came across a pair of King Parrots. In this video, the female bird feeds amongst the white flowers of a Grevillea bush:
In the background of the video, you can hear two types of cuckoos that have arrived in the area for the summer. First an Eastern Koel, then the raucous hoots of a Channel-billed Cuckoo. Just before the parrot flies off, a Peewee (Mud-lark) shrieks in the distance too.
King Parrots are fairly large parrots, most often seen in pairs. The female has a green chest and neck:
The male’s body and head are bright red. In fact, the male and female look so different that for a while, people thought they belonged to different species:
Here’s the male again, peering cheekily at the camera:
Common name: Australian King Parrot
Scientific name: Alisterus scapularis
Approximate length: 44 cm
Date spotted: 21 November 2024 (spring)
Location: Manly Dam reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’40.6″S 151°14’50.1″E
Cockatoos on a shed roof
A gang of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos dropped by to examine our shed roof and munch some grass seeds. One of the birds rather liked the noise the roof made when he jumped on it. Another bird is rather mucky, with brownish feathers. Perhaps he’s been dumpster diving? It’s interesting watching the interaction between the birds as they share a spray of grass flowers.
Sydney Birder 