Sulphur-crested Cockatoo — David Taylor - Master Jeweller

If you have ever wondered why they raise that crest it is when they are in a state of alarm. This one must be a bit cautious of me.

You see these birds quite often on the East coast of Australia. Where I live in Far North Queensland they can be found in large flocks around the farmlands of the Tablelands.

The previous bird was a male with black eyes. The females as shown above have reddish brown eyes.

These birds fly with an uneven beat of flaps followed by a glide. This one flew almost straight at me under the tree canopy.

Outside the breeding season they congregate in large groups and are quite noisy with their raucous screech.

When the birds do come to the ground one usually remains high up somewhere as a sentinel.

Feeding is what they usually do on the ground. They congregate in large groups around farmland when a meal is available. This crop had just been harvested and the birds were feeding on the scraps.

Often these birds are so used to humans that they will come up very close appearing to be almost tame.