Cacatua galerita x tenuirostris/sanguinea (hybrid)

2 Sulphur-crested Cockatoo x Long-billed/Little Corella (Hybrid) at Symonston, ACT

Request use of media

Identification history

Cacatua galerita x tenuirostris/sanguinea (hybrid)	16 Sep 2020	natureguy
Cacatua galerita x tenuirostris/sanguinea (hybrid)	16 Sep 2020	natureguy
Cacatua tenuirostris x galerita (Hybrid)	15 Sep 2020	natureguy
Cacatua tenuirostris x galerita (Hybrid)	22 Aug 2020	rawshorty

Identify this sighting

Please Login or Register to identify this sighting.

User's notes

These hybrids have been doing my head in a little. I kept thinking i was getting both at my place but it seems a bit odd that i would be. I had another visit today from what i was thinking was the Little x and started to go through my pics again and i have come to the conclusion that the one i thought was a Little X all the pics show the bill open to some degree making it look like the upper mandible is shorter. Today i got a pic of what i first thought was the Little x with it's bill closed and it looks the same as the Long-billed i have posted before. I was still thinking i was seeing two different birds visit due to behaviour. The One i was calling a Long-billed is aggressive towards the ScC and is dominant when ScC are around. The one i was calling a Little x is not aggressive and is submissive to the ScC. Further checking my pics today i noticed that this one has a Red-Brown iris ( Female )so i checked my pics again and the aggressive one has a Brown iris ( Male ). My thoughts now are that i am seeing two different birds, one male and one female but both being Long-billed X. Would like to here opinions on this.

6 comments

natureguy wrote:

22 Aug 2020

Hi Shorty, I assumed the other bird you suggested as Little (https://canberra.naturemapr.org/Sightings/4324852) was the previously identified bird, so I confirmed on that basis. As to the identification, I would think it would need a more thorough analysis to actually confirm whether the Corella was Little vs Long-billed. I do agree that the birds previously separated as Little x and Long-billed x are different birds. The other visible difference I can notice is the Long-billed x seems to have more yellow on the breast/throat than the other bird.

I'm not sure we can be completely confident from just these images of the Corella species involved. If Joseph Forshaw (you mentioned you contacted him before) is willing to have a look, that might be a good idea as I'm sure he would be more knowledgeable on the topic than us and might be able to give us a more decisive answer.

Regards Luke

natureguy wrote:

15 Sep 2020

Hi Shorty, please see my above comment. I have confirmed as Long-billed as per your suggestion.

ArcherCallaway wrote:

16 Sep 2020

Hi Shorty, I think long-billed would be more likely to hybridise due to lack of mates (but the counter could probably also be claimed based on probability as there are far more littles to hybridise with). This looks like a pretty standard SCC bill length to me, which doesn't help. To have any certainty would probably require genetics (any feathers left behind at your birdbath?) or finding a breeding corella/cockatoo pair and making diligent and frequent monitoring / anecdotal observations. You must have quite a lot of photos now, and along with your behavioural observations it would make a worthwhile contribution to CBN if you have the time. Like what was done with the WCHE/NHHE hybrid obs, detailed analysis of your photos and comparing characteristics with the parent species could reveal more insights (I feel like Geoffrey Dabb would be interested in this and might be willing to assist). Time permitting I too would be quite happy to assist and take a look at what you can put together. In the mean time, with your agreement I suggest we mark the hybrid sightings as corella sp. x SCC (or Little/Longbilled Corella X SCC) on CNM until more evidence comes to light as it is clearly a uncertain area of ID at present.

rawshorty wrote:

16 Sep 2020

Thanks Luke.
I agree Ryu, correla sp would be a good idea until ( If ) we can gain proof. No feathers i have seen come off the birds but will keep my eye on them. The male only visits from time to time but the female is quite regular. I will see how i go about something for CBN. I don't really have a lot of photos as most days i just enjoy watching them when they arrive and often the light is no good but i will photograph them every time they turn up from now on.

ArcherCallaway wrote:

16 Sep 2020

Sounds good. Thanks Luke for fixing all the current records.

natureguy wrote:

16 Sep 2020

Yep. I moved all the corella x SCC's to the new species heading. But I am happy to update if Shorty can get some solid evidence for which corella sp.

Please Login or Register to comment.