By Nicholas Munday, Adelaide Urban Birding
The subject of this article is perhaps one of the best known in the country, with a name now synonymous with craziness and silliness of all kinds: the humble Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla).
The Galah (or ‘Pink-and-Grey Galah’, as many people in Western Australia prefer to call them) is a small cockatoo, with unmistakable pink and grey plumage. Common in virtually all Australian cities, the Galah is so ubiquitous it is often taken for granted, despite the fact these are truly beautiful birds.
The Galah’s star turn as a quintessential urban bird is a relatively new affair. They have been steadily migrating into our cities over many decades.
At the time of European colonisation, these birds would have been virtually confined to the dry, open plains of the interior of the continent; however, two centuries of land clearing and cereal cropping in the southern parts of the country have been a veritable boon for the species, and their range has expanded to include virtually everywhere except rainforest.
It is unsurprising that your Adelaide Park Lands, with an abundance of grass and open space, suit these birds to a tee!
Galahs among the old olive trees in The Olive Groves /Kuntingga (Park 7). Photo: Shane Sody
Galahs are the sole members of the genus Eolophus, but being nestled in the family ‘Cacatuidae’, are closely related to the other cockatoos. They can be distinguished both by their exceptionally bright plumage (at least, for a cockatoo) and relatively small size.
The common name ‘Galah’ comes from the Yuwaalaraay language word ‘gilaa’, the local name for the bird amongst the Aboriginal peoples of north-western New South Wales.
Galahs are almost identical between males and females, with one key differentiating factor: females have an eye with a pink iris, whereas males have a darker, brown iris. The distinction is striking when viewed up close.
A female Galah photographed at Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi (Park 16), displaying the distinctive pink iris. Photo: Adelaide Urban Birding.
A male Galah photographed at Veale Park / Walyu Yarta (Park 21), displaying the darker brown iris. Photo: Adelaide Urban Birding..
There are also subtle differences between the Galahs of south-eastern Australia and those of Western Australia, with the western counterparts generally sporting more pink in their crests (as opposed to the pale-pink to white crests of the Galahs native to Adelaide). Those western birds are usually lumped into a separate subspecies to our local birds.
Galahs are one of the few native species to have not only learned to adapt to urban settings, they actively flourish in them, although their greatest densities tend to occur in agricultural and peri-urban areas, as well as pastoral lands where artesian bores provide ready access to water. While in metropolitan areas Galahs are usually encountered in small family groups, they are known to congregate in thousands in cropping country.
Galahs have adapted well to urban areas, and love the ovals and open spaces of your Adelaide Park Lands. Photographed here resting on powerlines on the city fringe. Photo: Adelaide Urban Birding.
The silliness of Galahs is truly an earned moniker; these are intelligent birds that are keen to learn new tricks and burn mental energy in ingenious (often destructive) ways.
We do not often associate wild animals with ‘play’, but Galahs certainly are playful; watching a flock of birds on a rainy day provides hours of entertainment as they wheel around in delight, splashing and dancing in reckless abandon almost like a young child (which is fitting, as many parrots are estimated to have an intelligence on par with a toddler).
A flock of Galahs in the Mount Lofty Ranges. Dense woodland would have been unsuitable habitat 200 years ago, but land clearing for urban development and agriculture have greatly benefited the species. Photograph: Adelaide Urban Birding.
These birds can be found virtually everywhere in your Adelaide Park Lands, although the best places to look for them have combinations of old-growth trees for nesting and grass for feeding, mimicking their natural habitat.
Parks that fit the bill perfectly include:
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Top (cover) photo: Galah by Nicholas Munday, Adelaide Urban Birding
To find out about other birds in your Adelaide Park Lands, check out our What Bird is That? series.
Nicholas Munday is an Environment and Planning Lawyer with degrees in Law and Science (Evolutionary Biology and Ecology) from the University of Adelaide. He has a strong interest in biodiversity conservation and runs the ‘Adelaide Urban Birding’ Instagram (@adelaideurbanbirding) account dedicated to his photography of native birds in the Adelaide Metropolitan area.
In his free time, Nicholas is well-known in the Adelaide choral music and theatre communities, and also enjoys bushwalking, writing, and (of course) photography.
The opinions expressed in this article are entirely those of the author. This author is not affiliated with the Adelaide Park Lands Association Inc.
