AY Honors/Parrots and Cockatoos/Answer Key

The Long-billed Corella, Cacatua tenuirostris, is a cockatoo native to Australia. Species are mostly white, with a pink face and forehead. They also have faintly pink feathers on the breast and belly, and yellow on the underside of the wings and tail. The birds have a long white beak, which is used to dig for roots and seeds.

Long-billed Corellas measure about 40cm in length and have a wingspan of about 80-90cm and averages 640g in weight.

The species can be found in the wild around western Victoria and southern New South Wales. Feral populations have sprung up in Sydney and Perth from the release of unwanted birds. This has serious implications in Western Australia where they may hybridize with the endangered southern race of the Western Corella.

Corellas as Pets

Long-billed Corellas are also popular as pets in many parts of Australia. Although they were once uncommon as pets, their population has stabilised in the last decade. This may be due to their amazing ability to mimic words and whole sentences to near perfection. The long-billed corella has been labeled the best "talker" of the Australian Cockatoos, and even other native (Psittacines?)

References

• Template:IUCN2006 Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

• Flegg, Jim. Birds of Australia: Photographic Field Guide Sydney: Reed New Holland, 2002. (ISBN 1-876334-78-9)
• Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) website - Threats to wild bird populations
• Hunt, chris. "A Guide To Australian White Cockatoos, their management, care and breeding. Sydney: ABK Publications (1999)