Galah

Parrots are beautiful birds features strong curved bill and there are roughly 398 species found worldwide. The family includes macaw, parrot, cockatoo, Parakeet, lorikeet, lory, Rosella and Galah.

Galah

The galah (/ɡəˈlɑː/; Eolophus roseicapilla), also known as the pink and grey cockatoo or rose-breasted cockatoo,is the only species within genus Eolophus of the cockatoo family. Found throughout Australia, it is among the most common of the cockatoos.With its distinctive pink and grey plumage and its bold and loud behaviour, it is a familiar sight in the wild and increasingly in urban areas. It has benefited from the change in the landscape since European colonisation, and appears to be replacing the Major Mitchell's cockatoo in parts of its range.

The galah is endemic to the mainland and one of the most common cockatoos bird from mainland Australia. Galah or pink and grey cockatoo can be found in open country in almost all parts of Australia and Tasmania.

Here are 5 amazing facts about the Galah that you may not know.

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1. Galahs help with seed dispersal

Galahs are seed-eaters, so are often seen feeding on grass seeds on the ground. They also eat seeds from many Australian shrubs and trees, including Acacias (Wattles) and Casuarinas (She-oak). They are important seed dispersers – many seeds germinate after galahs carry them to another site, and then drop them intact or partially-eaten.

2. Huge flocks of pink Galahs

Galahs can travel and roost in flocks of 1000 birds. It is an impressive sight, especially at dawn and sunset – their bright pink breasts glow in the warm light.

Galahs are very fast – they are known to fly at 70km/hr. They are powerful and acrobatic, and think nothing of doing loop-the-loops, and ducking through branches at speed, all in a show of their aerial mastery. To see a huge flock of galahs flying like daredevils, high and low, at great speed, is one of the great sights of Australia.

3. Loving families

Galah pairs share the nesting and parenting duties of their offspring, and baby Galahs stay with their parents for months or years. Galahs are monogamous and mate for life. The male Galah chirps and screeches in an effort to impress the female while courting. Galahs make their nests in hollow parts of trees – in spring it is not uncommon to see adult galahs entering or renovating hollows.

4. Pink for Girls

You can tell a female Galah by the colour of her eyes: just remember “pink for girls”. Female galahs have pink eyes. Males and young birds have dark brown eyes.

Many Australian cockatoos and parrots are colourful

5. Aboriginal Origin of the word Galah

Galah (gilaa) is the bird’s Yuwaalaraay Aboriginal language name. The Yuwaalaraay are a tribe from northern New South Wales, around the area of Lightning Ridge.

The word galah is also used in Australia for a silly person, a bit of a clown. This is thought to have come from the silly antics of Galah birds. Though highly intelligent, galahs often play the fool – hanging upside-down on branches, sliding down wires, tumbling and wrestling each other on the ground, doing somersaults and playing with toys.

Source: Internet

Pics: Balakrishnan