Four Iconic Australians

The yellow-tailed black cockatoo is native to Australia and Tasmania. I often see flocks of yellow-tailed black cockatoos swoop and fly around my house, announcing their arrival with their distinctive raucous call. It is an iconic and beautiful Australian bird and one that I am very fond of.

There is uncertainty whether galahs are native or not to Tasmania. Records show that they were here as early as the 1840s. I thought galahs were rather harmless and not causing too much trouble in Tasmania but it turns out that the north-west Tasmanian council wants to cull galahs!! Apparently they are “costly and dangerous” because large flocks are killing trees and gnawing powerlines around Ulverstone.

a yellow-tailed black cockatoo and a galah

The sulphur-crested cockatoo is also an iconic Australian bird and it has established itself in Tasmania. They are thought to have migrated over the Bass Strait under their own wing, and there is this same line of thought about galahs. They are a common sight in Tasmania. The sulphur-crested cockatoo is viewed as a pest by many farmers as large flocks regularly settle on fields of crops for a nice healthy feed.

a sulphur-crested cockatoo

Kookaburras were introduced into Tasmania, in 1906, by humans, to try to reduce snake numbers.  The laughing birds were brought to Tasmania to eat snakes but they also eat native lizards and impact the native birds. They are nest robbers.

Despite two (or three?) of these four iconic Australian birds not being native to Tasmania, and worrying about Tasmania’s native species, I love seeing and hearing them. Birds are beautiful and I love them.

Take care from PJ Paintings

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