As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Thursday 25 July 2013

Bird flocks black out Australia town

Thousands of birds have flocked to a town in Australia, causing power cuts and a mess, its mayor says.

Around 2,000 pink galahs and white cockatoos have descended on Boulia, Queensland, as a result of the drought, Mayor Rick Britton said.

They have been perching on power lines, causing outages when they take off, he said.
pink galah (male) credit: Wikipedia

The birds may not leave until November when rain is due, he said, so "people are going to have to live with it".

Galahs are a type of pink-breasted cockatoo found in Australia.

Several shires in Queensland are suffering from drought due to low rainfall. Boulia is in the far west of the state.

"Because we're in dry arid land we try to make our streets beautiful with lawns and trees - so the birds think that it's a little secret haven in the drought," Mr Britton told the BBC.

There were around 2,000 birds in the town, he added.

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