Rosellas and cockatoos in the Australian capital

Even on a winter day in Australia’s capital, Canberra, sulphur-crested cockatoos and crimson rosellas are often seen.

Sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita) are large white-feathered birds, native to Australia, with grey feet, black beaks, and yellow crests. They are about 44-55 cm (17-22 inches) tall. Males and females look similar. They can live up to 70 years in captivity, but only 20-40 years in the wild. Females nest in trees and lay 2-3 eggs which take about 27 days to hatch. Both parents keep the eggs warm and raise the nestlings until they can fly (usually 9-12 weeks).

Crimson rosellas (Platycercus elegans) are parrots native to eastern and south-eastern Australia, mainly in forests and gardens. They are medium-sized at 36cm (14 inches) with long tails. They have brilliant red chests with bright blue wings and blue cheeks. Males are a little larger than females, but the young can be different colours (often greenish) until they gain their adult red and blue feathers.

Rosellas are not migratory birds, so they will stay around the same region and not travel far. They like to travel in pairs (and not in groups like sulphur-crested cockatoos). When they mate, they stay with the same partner for life. Nesting sites are hollow tree trunks, limbs, and stumps selected by the female. Females lay 3-8 shiny white eggs and have an average incubation period of 20 days. Only females keep the eggs warm.

Both rosellas and sulphur-crested cockatoos eat fruit, seeds, nectar, berries, and nuts from a wide variety of plants. Often they will also eat insects, including termites, aphids, beetles, weevils, caterpillars, and moths.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

Comments

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass...

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog