galah
female galah
Galahs are part of the Cockatoo family. The red eyes mean it is a female as the males have brown eyes. They can be found all over Australia and like to hang out in large flocks though it is common for me to see them in pairs.. perhapes they are on a date and having some ‘alone’ time đ
unusual beach birds
While beach walking a saw this pair of Galahs feeding along the edge of the sand dunes, the female has red eyes and the male has brown eyes. Normally favouring large flocks, this pair seem to like their own company as I often see them together feeding on the weeds along the edge of the nature reserve near my house. The Galah is really a small cockatoo, a ground feeding bird around 36 cm they are a common and widespread sight throughout Australia.
the foraging galah
At the edge of the Moonee Beach Nature Reserve the weeds have taken advantage of the cleared nature strip and there are purple, white and yellow flowers as well as berries all tangled up together. Â This female galah and her friend have been coming down for a forage each day to pick through the delicacies on offer. Galahs take most of their food from the ground though they nest in the hollows of eucalypts.
The Galah is part of the Cockatoo family and has the classic powerful bill. This one is an eastern front galah, they have a reddish eye ring whereas their western cousins have a grey or whitish eye ring and their colouring overall is a little paler. I know it is a female because they have red eyes and the males have brown eyes.
They usually hang out in large flocks but I’ve only been seeing this pair … perhapes they have wandered off for a little alone time or maybe they don’t want to share the abundance of sweet things with their friends!
They are sweet natured parrots and make a pleasant ‘czzk-czzk’ sound interspersed with a loud screech. They seem to have quite a sense of humour and part of Australian colloquialism is calling someone a galah when they are being a bit silly or acting the fool.
Acknowledgement: The Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds 2nd ed.
margosnotebook 
You must be logged in to post a comment.