4/8/2024 0 Comments Gang gang cockatoos puns![]() ![]() Also, they breed in the canopy of most trees. Unlike most other cockatoos, gang-gangs nest in young, solid trees, the females using their strong beaks to excavate nesting cavities. They migrate short distances during winter into more open habitats, but must migrate back to denser forests to breed, because they need tall trees in order to build nests. Gang-gangs prefer forests and woodlands in the mountains, with dense shrub understories. They are an introduced species on Kangaroo Island. They used to inhabit King Island off of Tasmania, but have become extinct there. Gang-gangs are endemic to coastal regions of south-eastern Australia. Gang-gangs are very social birds, but not overly noisy. The birds are not easily mistaken for other cockatoos, but while in flight may resemble the Galah. Juvenile males can be distinguished by their brighter crowns and shorter crests, but otherwise look similar to the adult female. The edges of feathers on upperarts are slightly paler grey than the rest of the feather, which makes the bird look somewhat barred. The edges of feathers in underparts have edges of yellow or pink. The head and crest is bright red in males, but dark grey in females. However, more recent molecular phylogenetic analysis places it in the Cacatuinae clade, not the Calyptorhynchinae, and having diverged from the palm cockatoo ( Probosciger aterrimus). The gang-gang cockatoo was thought to be a distinctive early offshoot of the Calyptorhynchinae (black) cockatoos. The classification of the gang-gang cockatoo has always been controversial due to the unusual appearance and coloration of the bird, especially its sexual dichromatism. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek kallos meaning "beauty" and kephalē meaning "head". The specific epithet is from Latin fimbriata meaning "fringed". The type locality is the Bass River in the state of Victoria. The gang-gang cockatoo is now the only species placed in the genus Callocephalon that was introduced in 1837 by the French naturalist René Lesson. Grant coined the binomial name Psittacus fimbriatus. In 1803 the British Royal Navy officer James Grant included an illustration of the gang-gang cockatoo in his book describing a voyage to the colony of New South Wales in Australia. The name gang-gang comes from a New South Wales Aboriginal language, probably from one of the coastal languages, although possibly from Wiradjuri. It is easily identified by its distinctive call, which is described as resembling a creaky gate, or the sound of a cork being pulled from a wine bottle. The gang-gang cockatoo is the faunal emblem of the Australian Capital Territory. It ranges throughout south-eastern Australia. Mostly mild grey in colour with some lighter scalloping (more pronounced and buffy in females), the male has a red head and crest, while the female has a small fluffy grey crest. It is the only species placed in the genus Callocephalon. They also often make a soft growling sound when feeding.The gang-gang cockatoo ( Callocephalon fimbriatum) is a parrot found in the cooler and wetter forests and woodlands of Australia, particularly alpine bushland. The Gang-gang Cockatoo has a creaky, rising screech that sounds like a rusty hinge: ‘ky-or-ark’. Their average size is 34cm and their average weight is 257 grams. They can be located in food trees by the sounds of feeding and falling debris. Gang-gangs are gregarious but relatively quiet cockatoos. Young birds are similar to the adult female, with young males differing by having a red crown and forehead and a shorter, less twisted red crest. Females have extra yellow edging to their feathers that increases this barred effect. In both sexes, the feathers of the upperparts and wings are faintly edged pale grey, giving a barred appearance. The adult female has a dark grey head and crest, with the feathers of the underparts edged pink and yellow. The adult male has a distinctive scarlet red head and crest, with the rest of the body slate-grey. The Gang-gang Cockatoo is a small, stocky cockatoo with a wispy crest, large, broad wings and a short tail. ![]() After the breeding season has finished, and the days grow cooler and shorter, they undertake altitudinal movements, leaving the mountains and flying to lower elevations to spend the autumn and winter, where they often inhabit suburban gardens of lowland towns and cities. In the summer months, they are mostly found at higher elevations, where they breed in tree hollows in the moist eucalyptus forests of the mountainous Great Divide. The Gang-gang Cockatoo can be seen throughout many parts of south-eastern Australia. ![]()
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