Galah
Galah
34-38 cm. Wings, back and tail pale grey, whiter on rump; low cap-like white or pale pink crest; neck/body pink to deep rose red. Male: eye dark brown; female: eye red. Nominate race roseicapilla has whitish crown and crest; deep red eye-ring; race roseicapilla, confined to WA, has pinker crest; pale grey eye-ring; whiter rump and tail. Immature: (both races) breast washed grey; eye-ring grey. Pairs to very large, noisy flocks: wingbeats 'change gear' after take-off; flight swift and tilting, often flies wildly, pink then grey. Feeds on ground and in low foliage of saltbush, shrubs and trees; a pest in grain, haystacks, domestic fruit or nut trees. Flocks gather at spilt grain on country roadsides, railyards, grain silos. Waters and roosts in noisy antic companies; in rain hangs upside down from wires with wings spread.
- Voice
- high-pitched, splintered 'chill chill'; harsher screeches.
- Habitat
- open country with suitable trees; watercourses, town parks, playing fields, beaches.
- Breeding
- July-Dec. in s. Aust.; Feb.-June in n. Aust.
- Nest
- in tree-hollow, living or dead; strips bark from a large area around entrance; adds green eucalypt leaves and twigs; occasionally hole in cliff.
- Eggs
- 2-5; white, oval.
- Range & Status
- widespread on mainland Aust. in suitable habitat; absent only from driest deserts and denser forests. Range has expanded coastwards since European settlement: self-introduced and consolidating in Tas., via King I. Common to very abundant. Sedentary, with local foraging movements; young birds dispersive, nomadic.
- Distribution key to races
- 1. Eolophus roseicapilla albiceps 2. Eolophus roseicapilla kuhli 3. Eolophus roseicapilla roseicapilla
