Long-billed Corella

Overview

The long-billed corella, also known as the long-billed cockatoo or slender-billed corella, is a cockatoo native to Australia. It is a white bird with a distinctive long beak and is currently listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Identification

• Predominantly white plumage with reddish feathers on the breast, belly, and around the eyes.
• Long, bone-coloured or pale beak.
• Bluish rim of featherless skin around the eyes.
• Calls include a quick, quavering falsetto 'currup!', 'wulluk-wulluk', or 'cadillac-cadillac' mixed with harsh screeches.

Habitat

Native to Victoria and southeastern New South Wales, with an expanded range into Melbourne, Tasmania, South Australia, and southeast Queensland. It inhabits grassy woodlands, grasslands, agricultural crops, urban parks, and red gum woodland. A feral population also resides in Perth, Western Australia.

Diet

Forages by digging for roots, seeds, corms, and bulbs, particularly from weed onion grass. It consumes native plants such as murnong, though introduced plants now make up a substantial portion of its diet.

Did you know?

The long-billed corella is considered the best 'talker' of the Australian cockatoos, capable of mimicking words and whole sentences to near perfection.