Wild Bird Wednesday 677 - Galah

The Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla) is widespread, common, and very familiar throughout most of Australia.  It was introduced to Tasmania in the 19th Century, and has also been introduced to New Zealand.

Its common name is almost certainly derived from an Aboriginal Language, although no-one seems to be sure which one!  This species has been known by a number of other common names, including Rose-coloured Cockatoo and Roseate Cockatoo.  However, in 1926 the an official checklist of bird names was published in Australia and this species was designated the Galah.

These birds measure about 37cm from beak to tail tip, and have a very distinctive call.  All of the birds in this post were feeding on the grass 'nature strip' outside my house. I just sat on my drive way and let them get on with their lives.  As you may be able to tell, these picture were taken in late afternoon light, and the date was very close to the winter solstice.  I still find it had to believe I live in a place where these are basically garden birds!

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Wild Bird Wednesday 676 - Laughing kookaburra

The Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) must be one of the most well known of Australian birds.  It is in fact a large Kingfisher - and its genus name, Dacelo, is an anagram of the genus name Alcedo which is applied to the Common or European Kingfisher.  This is not a coincidence!

The Laughing Kookaburra can be found all along the east and south east of Australia, although it is not found in the dry interior of the continent.  It can also be found on south western Western Australia, Tasmania and very limited parts of New Zealand, but in all of these locations the species is not naturally occurring, and has been introduced.  

At 41- 47cm long this is not a small bird, and it can comfortably deal with the snakes, lizards, and small birds that comprise its diet.  This species will also take worms from leaf litter - and I think that is what (at least in part) this is bird is trying to do.

As you can see it was raining when I took these images, and I assume that the 'wing spreading' may be part of a cleaning behaviour.  When the bird was sat with its wings folded it was concentrating intently on the ground, presumably looking for food.

These pictures were taken at Wilsons Promontory National Park in Victory.  It's a wonderful place to visit, especially in winter when there are few people there and the wildlife is often more visible. 

If you ever happen to be in my part of the world, I would be very happy to so you some of the wonders of Wilsons Prom.

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Wild Bird Wednesday 675 - Bewick's Swan

Bewick's Swans visit the UK during the winter from their breeding grounds in the Arctic Tundra.

The classification of these birds is not straight forward.  It may be considered a sub-species of Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii)  or it can also be considered a full-species known as Cygnus bewickii.   I believe the more modern analysis treats these birds as a subspecies of Tundra Swan.  Most of the disagreement on this classification seems to hang on the amount of yellow / black in the beak.  On such things PhDs are made.

These birds wrestle photographed at Slimbridge, a WWT reserve in Gloucestershire, UK.  This reserve is famous for these swans, and it is a well known location for them in the winter.  However, the number of birds visiting the reserve has fallen by almost 90% in the last 50 years.  Many birds which would have 'traditionally' made the journey to Slimbridge after breeding now 'stop short' at other wetlands in Europe, rather than flying all the way to the UK.  This is almost certainly the result of the warmer winter temperatures now being experienced due to climate change.  There are now fewer than 18,000 of these birds that overwinter in Europe.

They are the smallest of the three species of Swan found in the UK, and this was the first chance I had to photograph them.  They really are a wonderful bird.

As ever, to join in with WBW click on the link below.  Cheers  SM

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