- Cacatua sanguinea
Identification
36 to 39 cm
- Plumage mostly white
- eye-ring fleshy, blue
- patch between the eye and bill pale rose-pink
- underwing and under tail with sulphur-yellow wash
Adults and young birds look alike.
Similar Species
Western Corella and Long-billed Corella in Perth area / South Western Australia (where introduced). See the entries for these species for differences.
Distribution
Australasia, Indonesia
Papua New Guinea
Australia: New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, Melanesia
Introduced to Perth area where regularly misidentified as Western Corella. Introduced to South-east Asia and escaped pets can be found virtually anywhere in the world.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 5 subspecies [1]:
- C. s. transfreta: Lowlands of southern New Guinea. [underwings and undertail brownish yellow.]
- C. s. sanguinea: North-western Western Australia and Northern Territory. [Lores and bases of head feathers pale pink-orange.]
- C. s. westralensis: Western Australia (Murchison River region). [Lores and bases of head feathers orange-red underwings and undertail deeper yellow.]
- C. s. gymnopis: Inland central and eastern Australia. [Lores and bases of head feathers extensively dark pink-orange.]
- C. s. normantoni: North-eastern Australia (western Cape York Peninsula). [Similar to sanguinea but smaller]
Habitat
Open land, timbered watercourses, grassland, crops, bushes and scrub of all descriptions, including mangroves, native cypress, cliffs; urban and suburban areas. Always near water.
Behaviour
Highly gregarious and can form very large flocks.
Diet
A ground seed-eater.
Breeding
Monogomous.
A nest is built in a tree hollow, lined with wood shavings. The clutch consists of 2-4 eggs which are incubated by both adults for about 25 days.
Breeding pairs nest in large colonies, and several nests may be found in the same tree.
Vocalisation
Very noisy. No song as such.
Social calls and squawks
Recorded by Azzy Gladstone, South Australia. March 2010
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Wikipedia
- Birds in Backyards
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Little Corella. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 18 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Little_Corella
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
