Little Corella

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Little Corella

Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Cacatuidae
Subfamily: Cacatuinae
Genus: Cacatua
Subgenus: Licmetis
Species: C. sanguinea
Binomial name
Cacatua sanguinea
Gould , 1843
Little Corella range (in red)
Little Corella range (in red)

The Little Corella, Cacatua sanguinea, also known as the Bare-eyed Cockatoo, is a white cockatoo native to Australia.

The Little Corella grows to 36 to 39 cm in length and congregates in flocks of up to several thousand birds, which often include many Galahs. The bird generally roosts in trees overnight, and flies off to feed in the early morning with an almost deafening screeching. It mostly feeds on the ground, eating seeds including cereal crops such as wheat and barley. It is so common that it has become something of a pest throughout much of Australia, and can be destructive to the trees in which it perches, by chewing the bark off smaller twigs. Corellas can be commonly found in the Melbourne suburbs of Camberwell and Ashburton.

Flock of Little Corellas at Moomba Gas Fields, S.A. Aust
Flock of Little Corellas at Moomba Gas Fields, S.A. Aust

[edit] References

  • Flegg, Jim. Birds of Australia: Photographic Field Guide Sydney: Reed New Holland, 2002. (ISBN)