BLACK COCKATOO

The yellow-tailed black cockatoo (Zanda funerea) is a large cockatoo native to the south-east of Australia measuring 55–65 cm (22–26 in) in length. It has a short crest on the top of its head. Its plumage is mostly brownish black and it has prominent yellow cheek patches and a yellow tail band. The body feathers are edged with yellow giving a scalloped appearance. The adult male has a black beak and pinkish-red eye-rings, and the female has a bone-coloured beak and grey eye-rings.

In flight, yellow-tailed black cockatoos flap deeply and slowly, with a peculiar heavy fluid motion. Their loud, wailing calls carry for long distances. The yellow-tailed black cockatoo is found in temperate forests and forested areas across south and central eastern Queensland to southeastern South Australia, including a very small population persisting in the Eyre Peninsula.

Two subspecies are recognised, although Tasmanian and southern mainland populations of the southern subspecies xanthanotus may be distinct enough from each other to bring the total to three. Birds of subspecies funereus (Queensland to eastern Victoria) have longer wings and tails and darker plumage overall, while those of xanthanotus (western Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania) have more prominent scalloping.

The yellow-tailed black cockatoo's diet primarily includes seeds of native and introduced plants while also feeding on wood-boring grubs. They nest in large hollows high of old growth native tree (~ greater than 200 years old), generally Eucalyptus regnans. Although they remain common throughout much of their range, fragmentation of habitat and loss of large trees suitable for nesting has caused population decline in Victoria and South Australia. Furthermore, the species may lose most of its mainland range due to climate change.

In some places yellow-tailed black cockatoos appear to have partially adapted to recent human alteration of landscape and they can often be seen in parts of urban Canberra, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne. The species is not commonly seen in aviculture, especially outside Australia. Like most parrots, it is protected by CITES, an international agreement that makes trade, export, and import of listed wild-caught species illegal.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

SUNRISE SKY

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

SPRING BLOSSOM

A little early this year, the wild plum trees are blooming and `that means that Spring is not too far off in the Southern Hemisphere!

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

DON'T RUBBISH OUR CREEKS

I always harp on here about how lucky we are in Metropolitan Melbourne to have so many parks, parklands, nature reserves, gardens and green zones. But immediately I say it, I think how we are also challenged by people who are intent on destroying such beauty, and ruining such an essential part of what keeps our city and citizens healthy. 

Some conscienceless and stupid people go out of their way to litter our streets and parks, pollute our waterways, throw away their rubbish into creeks, storm-water drains and sewers and vandalise flora, fauna and facilities.

The effect is larger of course, as the more destruction occurs, the greater the consequences on the broader environment and on every living thing...

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

COUNTRYSIDE

Victorian countryside near Melbourne.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

BLUE MOOD

I love blue!

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

LEAF

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MILLIPEDE

Millipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name being derived from this feature.

Each double-legged segment is a result of two single segments fused together. Most millipedes have very elongated cylindrical or flattened bodies with more than 20 segments, while pill millipedes are shorter and can roll into a ball. Although the name "millipede" derives from the Latin for "thousand feet", no known species has 1,000; the record of 750 legs belongs to Illacme plenipes.

There are approximately 12,000 named species classified into 16 orders and around 140 families, making Diplopoda the largest class of myriapods, an arthropod group which also includes centipedes and other multi-legged creatures.

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WINTRY SUN

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RED GREVILLEA

Grevillea is a diverse genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, native to rainforest and more open habitats in Australia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Sulawesi and other Indonesian islands east of the Wallace Line. It was named in honour of Charles Francis Greville, an 18th-century patron of botany and co-founder of the Royal Horticultural Society.

The species range from prostrate shrubs less than 50 cm (20 in) tall to trees 35 m (115 ft) tall. Common names include grevillea, spider flower, silky oak and toothbrush plant. Closely related to the genus Hakea, the genus gives its name to the subfamily Grevilleoideae.

The brightly coloured, petal-less flowers consist of a calyx tube that splits into four lobes with long styles. They are good bird-attracting plants. Honeyeaters in particular are common visitors. They are also used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the dryandra moth and Pieris rapae (small white).

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.