Glossy Black-Cockatoos in Capertee Valley - Includes calls and feed tree identification
41This delightful footage of Glossy Black-Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami lathami) was captured, edited and produced by the conservationist, citizen scientist and renowned wildlife sound recordist, Vicki Powys, who exclusively owns all rights to the video. The production includes Glossy Black-Cockatoo vocalisations, feeding behaviour and identification of the particular food source (i.e. seeds of Allocasuarina verticillata). For more information about this special encounter with this charismatic but, sadly, uncommon species please read Vicki’s description below.
“I filmed a family trio of rarely-seen Glossy Black-Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami lathami) on private property in Capertee Valley, NSW, 8th August 2023. The females have a pattern of yellow on the head that is unique to each individual, hence I was keen to record this family group for future reference. These birds can live for more than 30 years and they mate for life. They eat only the seeds from casuarina and allocasuarina trees. The species is listed as Vulnerable in NSW due to the continuing loss of this specialised habitat by clearing and bushfires. Glossy Black-Cockatoos nest in tree hollows with one egg laid per year. The size of their feeding territory can cover many kilometres and generally this species is considered to be sedentary. Fewer than eight thousand of these birds remain in the wild. Their distribution occurs in the eastern parts of Queensland, NSW and Victoria, and also on Kangaroo Island in SA. Their calls are a relatively soft "tarr-ed", with constant wheezy begging calls from young birds. A useful field guide can be found here: https://glossyblack.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/SEGBC-Field-Guide-LR.pdf. This video and observations were made by me, Vicki Powys, using a Panasonic Lumix pocket camera (DMC-TZ80) and edited with iMovie on a Mac.”