Corella - Long Billed

Other Breeds

Keeshond   |   Palomino   |   Pig – Pot Bellied   |  

Alternative Name

Slender Billed Corella, Slender Billed Cockatoo Scientific Name: Cacatua tenuirostris tenuirostris

Basic Info

Long-billed Corellas have long upper mandibles, of course! The entire bird grows to about 38 centimeters in length. They have white plumage, which is yellowish under the tail and wings. There is a large blue-gray area about the eye, which lacks feathers. Long-billed Corellas are characterized by the red coloring they have about their necks and in the area of their nostrils. Long-billed Corellas have a red crescent on their breasts and red foreheads. Their white crests are rather small. Male Long-billed Corellas generally have longer beaks than do females, and more red color in addition to being generally larger.

Health

Because Long-billed Corellas are so social, they will need plenty of love and attention from you and will do well when kept in pairs. Breeding Long-billed Corellas in captivity need a variety of nesting boxes. It may be difficult to get them to breed because many times they are not happy with the nesting options they have. Provide peat moss, dirt and wood shavings as nesting material. A typical clutch consists of two or three oval shaped, white eggs, which incubate for 24 days. The young fledge at about 56 days.

Habitat

N/A

Behavior

The Long-billed, or Slender-billed Corella is a lovely Cockatoo who lives both in the wild and in captivity throughout Australia. Long-billed Corellas are generally found near watercourses in grassy areas or open woody areas. They are highly social, gregarious birds and gather at feeding sites in flocks of hundreds of birds! Often, Long-billed Corellas will associate with the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo. While feeding, one bird will remain in a tree and keep watch while the others feed. They only feed during the cooler hours of the day, preferring to rest at midday in shade. Long-billed Corellas, when disturbed, will shriek loudly while taking wing. From July to November, Long-billed Corellas breed, making their nests in hollow treetops or branches. They have been observed making burrows in soft dirt banks when they cannot find a suitable tree. Both the male and female Long-billed Corella tend to the young and sit on the eggs!

Origin

Australia

History

In cultivated areas, Long-billed Corellas can seriously harm grain or millet and rice fields, and are endangered in some areas because they are persecuted as agricultural pests. First recognized by Kuhl in 1820, Long-billed Corellas are native to southeastern Australia.

Common Foods

They feed mostly on roots and onion grass supplemented with all sorts of seeds, vegetation and fruits in addition to insects.