As Birds Queensland's concluded their visit to the Boyne Valley, this pair of red-tailed black cockatoo posed for pictures in a white cedar tree. The prominent bird is the male and his band of red under the tail that gives the group their name, is visible if viewed large. These red feathers appear as bold red patches under the tail when he flies. The female is quite different with yellow speckles on the head , neck and shoulders and bands of yellow feathers across her chest and down her tail. They are threatened by loss of nesting sites. They require large hollows from 3 to 7 feet deep in the branches of trees to nest and with old growth forests declining so to are suitable trees. Here they are feeding on the seeds of the Cedar. Their claim to fame is that they were the first Australian parrot species to be drawn by Europeans when a female was sketched by members of Captain James Cook's team while they were stranded at what is now the town of Cooktown in North Queensland after their ship, the Endeavour, was damaged on the Great Barrier Reef in 1770.
great photo