![]() One of Australia’s prettiest birds, the Rose Breasted Cockatoo is best known for its bright and lively pink plumage. This graceful and lovely combination of simple colors sets the Galah apart as one of the prettiest cockatoos and parrots in Australia. Their distinct crest is less prominent when flaccid, and is colored in a pale, light pink, with darker feathers hidden beneath. The wings, back, and the rump are a silver gray, while the breast, belly, and face are a vivid bright pink. With a majority of common pet cockatiels being white, the Galah comes as a wonderful exception. The best feature of the Rose Breasted Cockatoo and the thing that sets them apart is their splendid and beautiful plumage. Due to their possible noisiness, Galahs and cockatoos, in general, are not the best choice for apartment birds. These intelligent parrots never fail to surprise you with a new word or a new way of getting what they want. But they’ll still love to talk and mimic human speech in their own peculiar and endlessly funny way. Galahs, on the other hand, can be significantly quieter than their relatives, owing to their shyer demeanor. The first thing you learn about cockatoos is that they simply love to be loud- they are nagging talkers with a big appetite for noisy behavior. Although seemingly identical, the males and females have one tiny difference – the color of the irises! The adults reach an average length of 14 inches (35 centimeters) and can weigh up to 12 ounces (350 grams). ![]() They have slender, graceful and proportionate bodies, with the distinct cockatoo crest on their head. These bright and lively cockatoos are unique but still share a plenty of traits with the rest of their family. In Melbourne, Perth, and Adelaide, small flocks of Galah cockatoos are a loved and common sight. They can be seen in the wilderness but in major Australian cities as well. With such an impressive distribution, the populations of these parrots are steadily rising and have adapted to live in most conditions. See Galahs on the Wildlife Journey in East Gippsland, Australia.Galahs are native to almost the entire Australian continent, with only a few small regions as an exception. Though highly intelligent, galahs often play the fool – hanging upside-down on branches, sliding down wires, tumbling and wrestling each other on the ground, doing somersaults and playing with toys. This is thought to have come from the silly antics of Galah birds. The word galah is also used in Australia for a silly person, a bit of a clown. The Yuwaalaraay are a tribe from northern New South Wales, around the area of Lightning Ridge. Galah (gilaa) is the bird’s Yuwaalaraay Aboriginal language name. Many Australian cockatoos and parrots are colourful – read about red-and-green King Parrots here. Males and young birds have dark brown eyes. You can tell a female Galah by the colour of her eyes: just remember “ pink for girls”. Please slow down on the road when you see a flock of galahs nearby, and if you see a dead one, get out and move it off the road to save its family. Their loving family will congregate near the dead baby, confused, and sometimes also get hit. When young galahs are first learning to fly, they will often misjudge cars on the road and get hit. Galahs make their nests in hollow parts of trees – in spring it is not uncommon to see adult galahs entering or renovating hollows. The male Galah chirps and screeches in an effort to impress the female while courting. Galah pairs share the nesting and parenting duties of their offspring, and baby Galahs stay with their parents for months or years. To see a huge flock of galahs flying like daredevils, high and low, at great speed, is one of the great sights of Australia. They are powerful and acrobatic, and think nothing of doing loop-the-loops, and ducking through branches at speed, all in a show of their aerial mastery. Galahs are very fast – they are known to fly at 70km/hr. It is an impressive sight, especially at dawn and sunset – their bright pink breasts glow in the warm light. Galahs can travel and roost in flocks of 1000 birds. They are important seed dispersers – many seeds germinate after galahs carry them to another site, and then drop them intact or partially-eaten. They also eat seeds from many Australian shrubs and trees, including Acacias (Wattles) and Casuarinas (She-oak). Galahs are seed-eaters, so are often seen feeding on grass seeds on the ground. Here are 5 amazing facts about the Galah that you may not know. The Galah Eolophus roseicapilla is sometimes known overseas, and in the pet trade, as the Rose-breasted Cockatoo. In East Gippsland on the Wildlife Journey tour we often see Galahs near the Snowy River at Orbost, where we stay at the Snowy River Homestead. You can see Galahs in almost any part of Australia, mucking around, playing, squawking and having fun. Galahs are one of Australia’s favourite birds.
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