Little Corella flock vs Little Eagle

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AJ Anderson
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Little Corella flock vs Little Eagle

Apologies for poor image quality, just wanted to share what I saw the other day near Bibra Lake, (Perth, Southern Suburbs, W.A.)

A large flock of introduced/pest species Little Corella (~220) successfully discouraged a Little Eagle (local resident) from circling near "their patch".

The Ravens are constant Raptor harrassers so there was a couple in on the action too. They were also chased off by the Little Corella flock!

Woko
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That's interesting, A J Anderson. Out of curiosity I poked my head into Peter Menkhorst et al's The Australian Bird Guide & no mention was made of the Little Corella being an introduced/pest species in Perth. The distribution map for the Little Corella shows the subspecies sanguinea reaching as far south as Perth. The guide does say the Little Corella is expanding its range "rapidly into coastal se Aus. Introduce flocks occur in many e coast towns and cities and in Tas." I'm wondering if you saw the Western Corella whose range covers Perth quite comfortably according to The Austalian Bird Guide. Any thoughts?

AJ Anderson
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No, definitely the Eastern Little Corella, Cacatua sanguinea gymnopsis. They arrived in the 60's via aviary escapes and populations are out of control now.

Cacatua sanguinea sanguinea from the far north and C.s.westralensis in the North West are W.A natives but generally don't come down to Perth.

The Western (Long-billed) Corella are confined to small areas now and also rarely visit Perth. Eastern Long-Billed Corella are also an introduced pest species here but nowhere near the numbers of L.C. 

 ..."including the eastern long-billed corella Cacatua tenuirostris and eastern subspecies of the little corella Cacatua sanguinea, have become established in WA, despite not naturally occurring in the state. They have expanded their range through much of the Perth metropolitan area and regional towns in the past 20 years."

Corellas and Other Flocking Cockatoos

Lightuningbird
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They could pose a threat to the native carnabies black cockatoo. Taking nesting sights and eating food wich the black cockatoos would usually eat.

Wimmera mally region, Vic.

AJ Anderson
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Habitat loss is the main threat to our endemic Black Cockatoos. The competition for nesting hollows from introduced species just exacerbates it.

The W-T B.C's are specialized feeders whereas Corella eat grass/seed and anything else!

Woko
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Well, well. This seems to be information for the next edition of The Australian Bird Guide at least. 

It also seems to be a strong argument for the banning of caged birds or, at least, the release, accidental or otherwise, of caged birds. Surely enough is enough of the threats to our native birds. 

AJ Anderson
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I Pre-ordered the revised addition of ABG. Should have it within the month. Will know then!

My field guide to the Birds of Australia (9th ed.) doesn't differentiate between the L.C sub-species, but my Western Australian Field guide does.

Always need multiple sources of information.

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