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Red-tails are often
confused with the more common Yellow-tailed
Black-Cockatoo. The easiest way to distinguish
between them is by listening to their call.
Check the audio links to familiarize yourself with
their call – it takes a bit of practice.
Hear a
Red-tail
Click here to hear a
Red-tail
Mp3 -93kb
Real Player -83kb
Recordings courtesy of
Ed McNabb Ninox Pursuits
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Appearance
Male Red-tails have glossy black plumage with
stunning, bright red tail panels. Females are quite
different but equally spectacular – they are one of
the most brightly marked subspecies of Red-Tail. They
have duller brown-black plumage but the feathers of
their head, neck and parts of their wing are speckled
with yellow. Viewed from below, their body is barred
in pale orange-yellow. Their tail barring can be
almost all pale yellow or pale yellow grading to pale
orange-yellow at the tip. Females have an off-white
bill which one volunteer suggests looks like the
birds are carrying golf balls! Males have a grey
bill.
Juveniles are difficult to distinguish from adult
females from the age of 1 to 3 years.
Seasonal Behaviour
Through Spring and early summer, the breeding season,
Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos are generally seen alone
or as family parties of 2 to 3 birds. During autumn
and winter it is more common to see the birds in
larger flocks. Several flocks of 100 birds and a
single flock of 245 birds were seen during the 2005
annual count.
Range and habitat of the South-eastern Red-tailed
Black-Cockatoo
Click here for
enlargement (pdf Format)
Female (left)
and male
South-eastern
Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos
Photo; Rob Drummonds , Mt Gambier
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