FAMILY: Cacatuidae
GENUS: Cacatua
SPECIES: roseicapilla
Description:
Small pink and grey
cockatoo with white periopthalmic eye ring. In the
Eastern states, these birds often have a white cap whereas those in the west
usually have a light pink cap. Slight sexual dimorphism with females having
pink irises and males dark (brown). Adult birds are
resident and strongly gregarious. Length:350mm.
Distribution:
Prior to the arrival of
Europeans, the Galah was essentially restricted to
the arid interior. Over the past few decades, however, it has increased its
range to inlcude most of mainland Australia and
eastern Tasmania.
Habitat:
Essentially open
habitats including semi-desert, plains, open woodland, farmland, grainfields and golfcourses/parklands.
Diet:
Seeds gathered mainly on
the ground.
Breeding:
Variable, but usually
February to July in the north and July to December in the south. Galahs are usually single brooded, but may nest
twice in good seasons.
Usual nesting site is a
tree cavity at heights varying from 2 to 20m above ground. Nests (cavities)
have been recorded in rocky outcrops and cliffs. Both the male and female spend
considerable time preparing the nesting site, sometimes spending a great deal
of time chewing bark and rotten wood away from the nest entrance. The nest is
used in subsequent seasons and is most often lined with eucalypt leaves. Both
sexes incubate the eggs and care for the young.
In captivity hollow
eucalypt logs are best suited for breeding. The log should have natural
entrance spouts, be approximately 30-60 cm in internal diameter, and about 50cm
or more in length. Vertical or inclined logs are acceptable. The preferred
nesting material is leaves or any available herbage (eg
grass). a mixture of wood shavings and dirt or peat
moss.
Clutch:
3-4 white oval eggs.
Incubation period: 30days. Fledging usually occurs at 56 days.
Mutations and Hybrids:
Galahs have a greater
number of mutations than any other Cacatuid. They
include: Albino (sex linked); Dilute (recessive); Cinnamon (2 recessive forms
and 1 sex linked); Silver(maybe another form of
Cinnamon); Off-white (lacking both pink and grey) and Grey and white - a mutant
where the pink is replaced by off-white).
Hybrids have been
recorded with the Gang-gang, Sulphur-crested
Cockatoo, Major Mitchell , Little Corella,
Slender-billed Corella and Lesser Sulphur-crested
Cockatoo