Red-tailed White-Cockatoo

["Jo Wieneke" <>]

This morning I saw a flock of 22 R-t B-C s  including one bird that at first
glance looked like a Sulphur-crested until I realised the jizz was wrong and
it had orange in the tail feathers! A strange looking bird with dirty
white/grey plumage apart from the tail feathers . I had really good looks at
it - from about 15m and it flew right overhead a couple of times with the
others. It was noticeable that a Black Kite was hassling it and not the
others.
I wondered if albino Red-tailed Blacks had been recorded before.

Red-tailed Black Cockatoos have been permanent residents of Townsville since
the drought a few years ago. We've had good rains in the past year but they
have stayed on and can often be found feeding under trees, on the ground by
the beach near Pallarenda and in Anzac Park near the city, obviously
appreciating the seeds of the sea almonds - Terminalia catappa.

Jo Wieneke