 |
 |
|
|
|
|
The pink and gray galah, sometimes called the 'rose-breasted cockatoo', is one of my all-time favorite birds. They are common throughout much of Australia (except for dense raniforest) and readily adapt to humans (in some regions they can become pests on grain crops). Often they seem to enjoy life and this is particularly the case when they play on wires and thin branches, hanging upside down from one foot or their bill. Unlike the bigger sulphur-crested cockatoo with its loud raspy screech, galahs have a pleasant 'zzek-zzek' call. Like most parrots they mate for life, and pairs -- males have dark eyes, females have red eyes -- are constantly in each other's presence, as is apparent in many of these images. Also like other parrots, they breed in tree hollows; fortunately the gum trees of Australia provide plenty of these. I took the photos in both overcast and bright conditions around the Fowlers Gap research station in the Outback of far northwestern New South Wales. Galahs are quite pink underneath whereever they live, but seem particularly intensely colored in the interior -- especially at sunrise or sunset, when many of these photos were taken. Images of galahs in flight can be found on this page.
|
|
|
|
