The corella problem

We have three species of corella in Australia: Little Corella, Cacatua sanguinea; Long-billed Corella, Cacatua tenuirostris; and Western Corella, Cacatua pastinator. The Little Corella is the most widespread and the most common species here in West Gippsland. The Long-billed Corella is mostly found in the south-east corner of SA and inland western Vic. The Western Corella is restricted to a small part of south-west WA. The three corellas are members of the cockatoo family and closely related to the familiar Sulphur-crested Cockatoo. 

The Little Corella is a small (35-39cm) white ‘cockatoo’, with a short erectile crest. It has some bare skin around the eye and some barely perceptible pink flush between the bill and the eye. 

It seems the Long-billed Corella is becoming more frequently sighted in our district with most large flocks of ‘Littles’ containing a few ‘Long Bills’ these days.

 

The Long-billed Corella (38-41cm) has a long, slender upper mandible, a distinctive red-pink bar between the bill and the eye, and an obvious pink flush on the throat and upper chest.

Corellas need fairly large tree hollows in which to nest. They mostly eat fallen seed on the ground, fruit and they particularly like to dig for corms and tasty roots of various grasses (a golf course greenkeepers nightmare!). It is not unusual to find flocks of hundreds around grain silos. 

Perhaps their most annoying characteristic, in urban situations at least, is that especially in the mornings, they collect in large noisy flocks and can damage garden trees and shrubs, orchards, crops, sporting fields, even buildings, with their chewing. 

Their presence in specific localities appears to be a seasonal thing. Eventually the flock will move on to ‘pastures new’. In the meantime, their raucous belligerence, for the most part, has to be endured. 

The Victorian Wildlife Act 1975 reminds us that “It is illegal to willfully disturb or to destroy protected wildlife”, and all native animals are protected. In theory, legally we can’t even disturb them! DEECA, the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, has fact sheet available Guidelines for Reducing Cockatoo Damage - Wildlife Management Methods, which details things you can do (practically – not much) and things you can’t do (heaps). 

Mid Murray Council SA, has a fact sheet, Little Corella Management on Private Property which perhaps gives the most practical advice for most urban dwellers at least: “… using strobe lights and flashing torches at roosting birds. This will disturb and scare birds which will cause them to seek other sites”. In other words, send them off to disturb someone else in the next suburb! 

It’s worth noting here, that in Victoria, a slingshot or shanghai, is a prohibited weapon under the Control of Weapons Act 1990. 

The German polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is known to have said “Enjoy when you can, endure when you must” or something like that – seems appropriate.