There are 8 messages under the topic 'Glossy Black Cockatoo Food Trees'
Posted by : Stephen Ambrose
15/01/09 10:48 am
Hi Greg,
Thanks for your observation and comments. I posed the same question on the Birding-aus Listserver and got the following response from regular contributor, Terry Bishop:
My father lives at Old Bar and fishes for Ludrick at Manning Point. You see
this behaviour on the other side of the river on the road to Harrington. I
have also seen the same on the Old Bar Rd about 4Km's towards Taree from Old
Bar on Chain Rd. I used to see them on the Salt Water Rd from Old Bar but
this area is now built out. They seem to be happy to feed in the same areas
with little or no interaction between the species.
I wonder if this behaviour has been observed only along the Mid-north Coast of NSW or whether it is more widespread?
Posted by : Greg Elks
15/01/09 8:19 am
Hello Stephen,
I have seen glossy blacks feeding in Allocasuarina littoralis and yellow-tailed blacks feeding in the adjacent Banksia integrifolia at Sawtell - I had a place adjoining the forest and it was not uncommon to see them out of the window - if feeding together then at different tables?
Posted by : Stephen Ambrose
09/01/09 3:57 pm
We’ve just arrived back from a fabulous holiday break near Manning Point, at the mouth of the Manning River, NSW Mid-North Coast.
Each day a flock of 6 Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos flew into the immediate area around our cabin to feed on the seeds of Forest Red Gums (Eucalyptus tereticornis) and various Banksia species. Interestingly, on the 2nd day of our stay only, three Glossy Black-Cockatoos flew into the same area to feed on the seeds of Forest She-oaks (Allocasuarina torulosa) while the Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos were still feeding.
This is the first time I’ve seen these two species feeding in the same area at the same time. They were quite clearly two separate feeding groups, feeding on different food items, and there were no obvious interactions between them, except maybe responding vocally to each others calls. I’m not so sure how common this association is and I’m interested to know if anyone has observed these two species feeding together at other locations.
This article argues that due to the size of their talons/feet, as well as nutritional yield, that small cones are not likely to be a preferred food source. Furthermore, selection between cones was related to easy of extraction of the seeds (and hence energy efficiency). Based on this article and personal observations (not seen GBC feeding in Swamp Oak ever), I've never considered Swamp Oak as a food source for GBC.
Our local Yellow-Tails also love the Slash Pines around the local golf course.
Posted by : Jenny Lewis
29/09/08 5:45 pm
This was on our property at Bungwahl (northern end of Myall Lake about halfway between Bulahdelah and Forster). I have only seen them feeding once and they don't come to our place very often (though we've only been here this year). They seem to hang out in the swamp oaks on the edge of the lake quite a bit (about 10min from our place).
I have been meaning to have a good look around for chewed fruits, but haven't gotten around to it yet. We have a few forest oaks as well (very few compared to the swamp oaks) and I've had a bit of a scout around under them, but haven't seen any evidence that they're being used by the glossys. It could be that they just happened to lob in and had a bit of a munch on the swamp oaks just for that day.
Posted by : Paul Burcher
26/09/08 9:51 am
I would have thought Swamp Oak (and River Oak) fruits would be too small and fiddley for Glossy Blacks to bother with so it is interesting they are using it. Where was this Jenny? Also Swamp Oak grows on poor saline soils so one would expect that the seeds are not very nutritious, which is what Glossies select for. As reported in an ECA newsletter some years back I saw Glossies feeding on Coast Banskia at Shoal Bay. Generally though they seem to stick to Forest Oak and Black She-oak along the coast and ranges.
Posted by : Stephen Ambrose
02/09/08 3:04 pm
While the Allocasuarina seeds are the principal food source of GBCs, Higgins (1999) provides a more comprehensive list of alternative food plant sources, i.e. seeds of Callitris (Cupressaceae), Pinus endlecheri and P. radiata (Pinaceae), Helianthus annuus (Asteraceae), Casuarina cristata and C. glauca (Casuarinaceae), Acacia spp. (Mimosaceae), Angophora and Eucalyptus spp. (Mimosaceae), and Hakea spp. (Proteaceae).
Reference:
Higgins, P.J. (ed) (1999). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Vol 4: Parrots to Dollarbird (Oxford University Press).
Posted by : Jenny Lewis
01/09/08 9:46 am
This weekend I noticed Glossy Black Cockatoos feeding on swamp oaks. I've often wondered about swamp oaks as a food source and how important swamp oak stands might be to GBCs. Most of the literature I've read seems to indicate that Allocasuarina torulosa and littoralis are the preferred food trees. Ray Willliams has also observed GBCs feeding on pine cones.
I'm wondering if swamp oaks represent a secondary food resource in meager times or if they make up a larger part of the GBC diet in some areas. Has anyone done any research along these lines, or made similar observations in the field?
