Rare birds in zoo collections

[Pygathrix]

the Carnaby's is the white-tailed black cockatoo of the wheat-belt and is the one that is commonly seen around Perth for part of the year. The Baudin's is the white-tailed black cockatoo of the karri forests and is not generally seen in Perth as it is much rarer and much more restricted in its diet. They are difficult to tell apart from one another if you're not familiar with them. I've seen both species at the Perth Zoo, but only the Carnaby's in the wild.

If I recall correctly they can be told apart by their calls, Carnaby's is "karak", Baudin's is "William", which I found hard to believe until I heard them in Dryandra, and that is exactly what it sounds like. Numbers are declining there because of introduced bees taking the best nesting sites.

 

[Chlidonias]

the ones at Dryandra are Carnaby's. The two species do have different calls but you need to be familiar with the calls (i.e. with actual experience) to actually tell them apart definitively.

 

[Pygathrix]

the ones at Dryandra are Carnaby's. The two species do have different calls but you need to be familiar with the calls (i.e. with actual experience) to actually tell them apart definitively.

Did I get to the wrong way round then? Sadly I was under the impression that I had seen both species in the wild.

 

[Chlidonias]

this is a very useful page for identifying the two species which I used when I was there last year: Leeuwin Current Birding: ID Feature: White-tailed Black-Cockatoos

There's a section in there on voice.

Don't feel bad if you didn't see both species -- you saw a numbat which is infinitely better! They are jolly hard to find nowadays!

 

[Hix]

I've seen 43 in captivity, but none of them in the wild (from memory).

I can now make that 45 in captivity, and I forgot I saw wild Kaka at Zealandia and Mt Bruce.



Hix


Golden White-eye (Honolulu Zoo, 2012)

 

[Chlidonias]

very cool. I wouldn't have expected to see that in Hawaii! Interestingly, this species was originally placed within the honeyeaters.

 

[Hix]

Apparently six zoos have received the species to breed up numbers in captivity (according to Wikipedia). Honolulu may have been chosen because it's an island at a similar latitude to the Marianas.



Hix