Mysterious Australian Night Parrots may not see in the dead of night

Australia's most elusive bird, the Night Parrot, may not be much better at seeing in the dark than other parrots active during the day

Date: June 9, 2020

Source: Flinders University

Australia's most elusive bird, the Night Parrot, may not be much better at seeing in the dark than other parrots active during the day.

An international study, co-led by Flinders University's Dr Vera Weisbecker, has revealed the critically endangered parrot's visual system is not as well-adapted to life in the dark as would be expected for a nocturnal bird, raising concerns it might be adversely impacted by fencing in the Australian outback.

"Night Parrots must be able to find their way at night -- to find food, avoid obstacles while flying, and escape predators," says Dr Weisbecker.

"We therefore expect their visual system to show adaptations for seeing in the dark, similar to other nocturnal birds -- New Zealand's Kakapo parrot and owls with enlarged eyes for example. However, we found that this wasn't the case."

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Protection for Antipodean albatross

FEBRUARY 24, 2020 9:29 AM AEDT

Australia has helped secure international agreement to protect the endangered Antipodean albatross on its 100,000km annual migration between New Zealand, Australia and Chile.

In India overnight, 130 countries agreed to further protections for the Antipodean albatross at the Conference of Parties on the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.

Each year, these majestic seabirds lay their eggs on breeding islands in the subantarctic waters south of New Zealand before heading off over winter to search for sparse feed supplies of cuttlefish in places like the NSW South Coast.

With as few as 9050 breeding pairs remaining, it was vital that the international community acted to protect the Antipodean albatross.

This is a tremendous outcome that will help reduce instances of the albatross being inadvertently caught by fishing vessels in coastal waters and the high sea, so that these birds can migrate safely.

Australia, New Zealand and Chile proposed the protections to prevent the further decline of the species, which without our help is in danger of being extinct within 20 years.

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South Coast shorebird hatching boom despite bushfires

FEBRUARY 19, 2020 8:18 AM AEDT

Critically endangered Little Terns, Hooded Plovers and Pied Oystercatchers have fledged chicks at nesting sites along the NSW South Coast despite bushfires and beach visitors.

Environment Minister Matt Kean was pleased the little nesting shorebirds are doing well despite many challenges this summer including the Currowan fire.

“It’s really encouraging to see great conservation outcomes for these rare birds,” Mr Kean said.

“It’s great to have positive news about these birds which are migratory and listed as endangered or vulnerable species at risk of predation, storms and other threats.”

“These precious birds made it through last week’s king tide which nearly washed the eggs away before they hatched. Thankfully, NSW Government’s Saving our Species (SoS) program experts and local volunteers snatched them to safety from the advancing tide, moving the nests to the top of a sand mound.”

Volunteers kept watch to ensure the chicks were safe as the youngsters are still feeding with their parents at the site. Other breeding successes include:

35 little terns at Mogareeka, near Tathra

10 little terns and three pied oyster catchers at Tuross estuary, despite fox attacks and high tides

5 pied oyster catcher fledglings near Durras Lake entrance.

Shorebird Recovery Coordinator Sophie Hall-Aspland said these results show the shorebirds’ resilience, with the help of the determined efforts of the SoS’s South Coast Shorebird Recovery Program, which is a collaboration between SoS, NPWS, local community groups and over 100 volunteers.

The shorebird nesting season occurs from August to January/February, with peak laying from late November to mid-December. While pied oystercatchers are residents on many Aussie beaches, little terns undertake an arduous migration from as far away as Korea and Vietnam.

Source

Australia's threatened birds declined by 59% over the past 30 years

DECEMBER 3, 2019

by Elisa Bayraktarov and Jaana Dielenberg, The Conversation

Australia's threatened birds declined by nearly 60% on average over 30 years, according to new research that reveals the true impact on native wildlife of habitat loss, introduced pests, and other human-caused pressures.

Alarmingly, migratory shorebirds have declined by 72%. Many of these species inhabit our mudflats and coasts on their migration from Siberia, Alaska or China each year.

These concerning figures are revealed in our world-first Threatened Bird Index. The index, now updated with its second year of data, combines over 400,000 surveys at more than 17,000 locations.

It's hoped the results will shed light on where conservation efforts are having success, and where more work must be done.

Bringing conservation efforts together

The index found a 59% fall in Australia's threatened and near threatened bird populations between 1985 and 2016.

Migratory shorebirds in South Australia and New South Wales have been worst hit, losing 82% and 88% of their populations, respectively. In contrast, shorebirds in the Northern Territory have increased by 147% since 1985, potentially due to the safe roosting habitat at Darwin Harbour where human access to the site is restricted.

Habitat loss and pest species (particularly feral cats) are the most common reasons for these dramatic population declines.

Continued

One for sorrow, dozens for joy: Bird-loving woman spends time socialising with 50 magpies every morning - and says it helps her relax

Caring woman started feeding an injured magpie and now finds yard overrun 

Up to 50 magpies are waiting for her at 5.30 in the morning for breakfast

Woman thinks birds are hungry because of the drought and bush fires

Neighbours have joined in feeding the birds and aren't bothered by noise

By KYLIE WALTERS FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

PUBLISHED: 03:17, 4 December 2019 | UPDATED: 07:39, 4 December 2019

A bird loving woman who started caring for an injured magpie now finds her home inundated with them in the early hours of every morning. 

The woman, who lives in Oxenford in Queensland, doesn't mind the early wake up call and finds it  ''relaxing' to start each morning spending time with the birds.  

 'I usually get up at 5.30 in the morning and come out with my coffee and they are here waiting for me' Collette Dunn told 7 news. 

Each morning when Colette comes out with her morning coffee, she founds dozens of magpies waiting for breakfast

With a gourmet menu on offer each morning including dried crickets, meals worms, sunflower seeds, oats and premium mince, it is no wonder the birds keep returning for more. 

Good samaritan Colette started feeding the magpies after she found an injured one in her backyard. 

'It all started with one that we started feeding that had a broken beak. He told his friends!' she told the ABC. 

Continued

Mystery surrounds why hundreds of dead birds have washed up on Sydney's beaches - as experts say something is going 'drastically wrong' and declare a crisis

Corpses of short-tailed shearwaters have been spotted at several shorelines 

The birds are migrating back to southern Australia to breed but dying on way 

Krill and other fish they feed on have dwindled due to sea temperatures rising

By CHARLIE MOORE FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

PUBLISHED: 04:09, 18 November 2019 | UPDATED: 12:08, 18 November 2019

Hundreds of dead birds are washing up on Sydney's iconic beaches.

The corpses of short-tailed shearwaters have been spotted at several shorelines including Bondi, Manly and Cronulla.

The birds are migrating back to southern Australia to breed after spending the summer in Alaska.

Hundreds of dead birds are washing up on Sydney's iconic beaches. Pictured: The corpses of short-tailed shearwaters on an Australian beach in October

But, according to experts, a higher number than usual are dying on the way due to a lack of food.

The birds need to be at full strength to make the 14,000km trip over the Pacific but the krill and other fish they feed on have apparently dwindled due to sea temperatures rising. 

Each year around 30,000 birds land at Griffiths Island at Port Fairy in Victoria but this time only half that number have made it, according to Peter Barrand, the president of BirdLife Warrnambool. 

Explaining why, he told Yahoo News: 'Water temperatures are rising, the fish shearwaters feed on are not coming into the shallows.

'There's certainly something that's going drastically wrong'.

The Short-tailed Shearwater is Australia's most numerous seabird. 

During breeding season, millions converge on many small islands from NSW to Western Australia, with their stronghold in Bass Strait. 

After their chicks are large enough to fend for themselves, the adults leave the breeding islands and migrate north-east, flying on a broad front through the central Pacific Ocean, where immense numbers were seen by Captain Cook. 

They spend the southern winter at sea in the northern Pacific, off Japan, Siberia and Alaska.

Source: BirdLife Australia 

BirdLife Australia has rendered the problem a 'crisis'.

In a statement on its website, the group says: 'For the fifth consecutive year, the sea surface temperatures off Alaska have been unusually warm, which has led to a dire shortage of the shearwaters' marine prey, resulting in thousands of dead shearwaters being washed ashore along Alaska's beaches. 

Continued

Zebra finches survive Australian heatwaves by predicting high temperatures

DECEMBER 2, 2019

by Curtin University

The survival habits of a native Australian bird have given Curtin University researchers vital clues that may help understand how wildlife can withstand harsh heatwaves that may prove fatal.

The research, published in Frontiers in Physiology, monitored the physiological and behavioural responses that enabled zebra finches, an iconic desert bird, to survive extreme temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius over three to four days at Fowlers Gap, north of Broken Hill in New South Wales.

Lead author Dr. Christine Cooper, from Curtin's School of Molecular and Life Sciences, said researchers monitored zebra finches, which are distinctive native birds known for their zebra-striped tails and commonly found in the drier parts of Australia, while they were feeding and drinking.

"Given that birds are particularly susceptible to extreme weather events and there have been recent cases of mass bird deaths during heatwaves, it is important to understand how desert Australian birds respond to heatwaves," Dr. Cooper said.

"Our research found that zebra finches survived heatwaves of 40 to 45 degrees Celsius by avoiding or limiting their movement during the hottest parts of the day and pre-emptively feeding and drinking in preparation for long periods of inactivity."

Dr. Cooper said the research offered important clues to understand how other species may respond to extreme weather events, including harsh Australian heatwaves.

Read on

Calls for man who killed 420 wedge-tailed eagles to face charges under wildlife act

Scale of killings so great that long-term-impact on eagle population is unknown, conservation groups say

Andrew Stafford

Thu 21 Nov 2019 17.00 GMTLast modified on Thu 21 Nov 2019 17.02 GMT

Conservation groups have called for a Victorian landowner to face charges under the Wildlife Act, after he admitted to his part in killing 420 wedge-tailed eagles over an 18-month period in the Bairnsdale magistrates court last week.

John Auer pleaded guilty to charges brought by the state Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions of misusing agricultural chemicals. He was fined $25,000 and received a 12-month good behaviour bond. He was also given a 12-month community corrections order.

Auer and former farmhand Murray Silvester, a New Zealand national, used the insecticide Lannate and other chemicals to poison the eagles at Tubbut in the Snowy Mountains between October 2016 and April 2018.

Silvester was sentenced to two weeks jail, fined $2,500 and deported last year. The penalty was criticised for its leniency at the time, despite the fact that it was the first custodial sentence ever handed down for destroying protected wildlife in Victoria.

Emails and text messages presented in evidence showed that Silvester was acting under the instruction of Auer. The Age reported that magistrate Simon Barnett described his offending as “calculated, unacceptable and disgraceful behaviour”.

Continued

From Alaska to Australia, anxious observers fear mass shearwater deaths

Migratory short-tailed shearwaters are Australia’s most numerous seabird, but washed-up carcasses, late arrivals and low numbers have conservationists worried

Graham Readfearn

Sat 23 Nov 2019 19.00 GMTLast modified on Sat 23 Nov 2019 23.24 GMT

The carcasses began to arrive in July.

Residents around the Bristol Bay area of Alaska found thousands of dead short-tailed shearwaters washing up on remote beaches, and sent samples to Anchorage.

“We collected about 100 birds for testing and they didn’t test positive for any diseases or toxins,” says Dr Kathy Kuletz of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

“They were severely emaciated. The birds had starved.”

Two months later, observers in Australia began to register similar concerns. Every year the shearwaters – also known as mutton birds – make a remarkable 15,000km migration from the northern hemisphere to breeding sites in the Bass Strait and the south-east of the continent.

But this year they have arrived late, and in lower numbers than usual, leading at least one watcher in Victoria to warn that Australia’s most common seabird could suddenly become one of its rarest if numbers plummet drastically this year.

“I’m very, very concerned,” says Peter Barrand, the president of Birdlife Warrnambool.

Patchy and late return

The arrival of shearwaters at places such as Griffiths Island and Phillip Island in Victoria is well known not only for its scale, but also its precision timing.

Continued

Australia has all the tools to protect its birds from extinction – but it is failing

If ever there were a country in a position to invest in protecting its precious wildlife, it was Australia. Yet the survival of dozens of species is at stake

Sean Dooley

Mon 4 Nov 2019 17.00 GMTLast modified on Tue 5 Nov 2019 02.45 GMT

The last time Australia experienced a quarter of national negative economic growth, the Soviet Union still existed, Nirvana were on the cusp of releasing Nevermind, and the first serious attempt to analyse and catalogue our threatened birds – The Action Plan for Australian Birds – was about to be published.

In the 28 years since, the lucky country has recorded the longest period of continual economic growth of any modern nation. Whether this was due to 1991 being “the recession we had to have”, the fundamentals of a strong, modern economy having been put in place, or the sheer dumb luck of being a beneficiary of the China boom, if ever there were a country in a prime position to be able to invest in protecting its precious wildlife, it was us.

So how has that worked out?

Not so well. Each decade since, lead author Prof Stephen Garnett has produced a further action plan for Australian birds. By the time of the 2010 action plan, the conservation status of 49 species of Australian bird had deteriorated since 1990. That is, they had been recognised as taking the next step towards extinction.

Garnett was in Melbourne last month , consulting with threatened-species experts in final preparations for the 2020 action plan. Final population estimates and other data are still being thrashed out; the early indications are not so promising for a turnaround in fortune for the majority of our threatened species. In fact, a 2018 report by the National Threatened Species Hub, with which Garnett collaborates, indicated that some of the birds in this year’s Bird of the Year poll, such as the regent honeyeater and the orange-bellied parrot, may not exist in the wild if the vote were to be run in 20 years’ time.

Continued

A cyclist suffered an anaphylactic reaction after being attacked by a magpie.

'It smashed me really hard': Cyclist suffers an anaphylactic reaction after magpie swooped and scratched her face while she was cycling

Mellissa Gregory was bike riding with partner when she was attacked by magpie 

She claims the bird swooped and drew blood from her face causing it to swell

She was rushed to hospital leaving doctors confused over anaphylactic reaction 

By SAHAR MOURAD FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

PUBLISHED: 14:37, 2 November 2019 | UPDATED: 14:37, 2 November 2019

Mellissa Gregory was bike riding with her partner at Chelsea's Bicentennial Park in Melbourne's south when a magpie swooped and attacked her face three times.

She claims the bird drew blood from her face causing it to swell from an allergic reaction. 

'Out of nowhere I just get hit in the side of the face,' she told 7NEWS.

'Next thing I know there's just blood everywhere... It honestly smashed into me really hard.'

Ms Gregory was rushed to hospital and doctors were left confused over the anaphylactic reaction. 

Continued

Fairy-wrens change breeding habits to cope with climate change

OCTOBER 11, 2019

by The Australian National University

Warmer temperatures linked to climate change are having a big impact on the breeding habits of one of Australia's most recognisable bird species, according to researchers at The Australian National University (ANU).

The study looked at the breeding season of superb fairy-wrens living in the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra.

The research was led by Dr. Lei Lv, who is visiting ANU from Sun Yat-sen University in China.

Dr. Lv says warmer temperatures in early spring mean the birds will start breeding earlier than they normally would. If temperatures rise too high in mid-summer, they will also finish breeding earlier.

"Fairy-wrens have a very long breeding season which usually runs from around September through to February," Dr. Lv said.

"The timing varies a lot among individuals and from year-to-year. We wanted to see if this variation was connected to changes in climate.

"It turns out if the minimum night-time temperatures are milder, the birds will start breeding earlier.

Continued

Insecticide blamed for the deaths of 200 native birds, including wedge-tailed eagles

Environment officials are unsure whether the poisoning of the birds in northeast Victoria was an accident

Australian Associated Press

Mon 7 Oct 2019 02.16 BSTFirst published on Mon 7 Oct 2019 02.03 BST

An insecticide is likely to be behind the deaths of almost 200 native birds in northeast Victoria, environment officials believe.

After dead wedge-tailed eagles were found near Violet Town in August the state’s environment department found more – along with hawks and falcons – on a nearby property.

They have since found up to 200 dead native birds in the area, including 25 wedge-tailed eagles.

Tests on six eagles have detected an insecticide used to control mites.

The same agricultural chemical has been found in the carcasses of animals suspected of being used as bait. The department believes it may have caused all the bird deaths. But it is not sure whether the poisoning was accidental.

“It remains unclear if these birds were deliberately poisoned, however given the large number of birds found nearby, it’s a possibility,” the environment department compliance manager, Andrew Dean, said.

Raids have also taken place in recent weeks at properties in Shepparton East and Goomalibee.

“All evidence collected will be forensically analysed, including the carcasses and chemicals seized, which may take some time,” Dean said.

Native birds are protected under the Wildlife Act and deliberately killing them can result in a fine of up to $39,652 or up to two years in prison.

Rare, 'Dalmatian-like' spotted magpie photographed beside Victorian road

By Emma Siossian

Updated 13 Sep 2019, 8:07am

Sandy Goddard was travelling from work this week, on a road she uses most days, when an unusual sight caught her eye.

Key points:

A rare spotted magpie with a beak full of worms has been seen outside Geelong, Victoria

The bird's unusual colouring is caused by a condition called leucism

Local residents say they suspect it is feeding young

"I spotted him on the side of the road just outside of Geelong, in Victoria," Ms Goddard said.

"I thought it was a weird looking rock at first. Then he moved!"

Ms Goddard enjoys bird photography and said she was lucky to capture some clear images, after stopping on the side of the road.

"I really hope he doesn't get hit by a car, it's a bloody busy road," she said.

"He was right out the front of a house and they probably see him everyday and don't even realise how special it is."

Magpie a rare bird

Birdlife Australia's Mick Roderick said the bird's unusual spots were caused by a rare condition called leucism, a genetic variation in the cells responsible for producing black pigment.

"Birders would probably describe [it] as being 'piebald', but its plumage is explained by a condition called 'leucism'," he said.

"It's very uncommon.

"This bird has a good mix of dark (normal) and leucistic feathers, which is what makes it look piebald."

Last year, a rare white leucistic magpie was found in Adelaide Parklands.

'Dalmatian magpie'

While most Australians are familiar with magpies and their distinctive, warbling song which resonates through both bush and city, many keen twitchers report they have never seen a magpie quite like this before.

Ms Goddard's photos were shared on a bird photography page on social media, where they have generated a lot of interest.

Continued

Survival of the chickest: the unlikely battle of the urban brush turkey

Australian researchers are trying to understand how the birds, which receive no parental care, survive against all odds in big cities

Lisa Martin

Mon 9 Sep 2019 05.39 BST Last modified on Mon 9 Sep 2019 05.40 BST

The chicks are considered “hors d’oeuvres” of the bird world and now Sydney scientists need public help trying to understand how brush turkeys survive against the odds in urban environments.

Brush turkeys’ six-month breeding season kicked off in July and a team of researchers from the University of Sydney and Taronga Zoo have put out a call for community sightings of nesting mounds, breeding activities and chick hatchings across New South Wales and Queensland.

John Martin, an honorary associate at the University of Sydney, said the birds use an ancient nesting method of laying eggs in mounds and the heat of decomposing vegetation incubates them ahead of hatching.

Similar to sea turtles, the chicks receive no parental care, Martin said.

“If you think about the urban environment with cats, dogs, foxes, roads, birds of prey, snakes, not to mention kids, it seems unlikely that they would be an urban survivor,” he told Guardian Australia.

continued

Building blocks of bird babble identified

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

by University of Zurich

A new study by an international team headed by the University of Zurich sheds light on whether animal vocalizations, like human words, are constructed from smaller building blocks. By analyzing calls of the Australian chestnut-crowned babbler, the researchers have for the first time identified the meaning-generating building blocks of a non-human communication system.

Stringing together meaningless sounds to create meaningful signals is a core feature of human language. Investigating whether animals share this basic combinatorial ability has been complicated by difficulties in identifying whether animal vocalizations are made from smaller, meaningless sounds, or building blocks. New research by scientists at the Universities of Zurich, Exeter, Warwick, Macquarie and New South Wales has addressed this question in the calls of the chestnut-crowned babbler (Pomatostomus ruficeps)—a highly social bird from the Australian Outback.

Meaningful calls composed of distinct sounds

Previous research demonstrated that chestnut-crowned babbler calls seemed to be composed of two different sounds "A" and "B" in different arrangements when performing specific behaviors. When flying, the birds produced a flight call "AB," but when feeding chicks in the nest they emitted "BAB" provisioning calls. In the current study, the authors used playback experiments, previously used to test speech-sound discrimination in human infants, to probe the perception of the sound elements in babblers. "Through systematic comparisons we tested which of the elements babblers perceived as equivalent or different sounds. In doing so, we were able to confirm that the calls could be broken up into two perceptually distinct sounds that are shared across the calls in different arrangements," explains Sabrina Engesser from the University of Zurich, lead author on the study. "Furthermore, none of the comprising elements carried the meaning of the calls, confirming the elements are meaningless," she adds.

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Artificial trees capture new bird species on candid camera

AUGUST 23, 2019

by Jane Faure-Brac, Australian National University

An experiment from The Australian National University (ANU) using artificial trees has attracted birds and other wildlife never before seen in a damaged Canberra landscape—catching them on camera at the same time.

The experiment is a collaboration with the ACT Parks and Conservation Service and uses a series of power poles and translocated dead trees erected in landscape under regeneration.

The ANU researchers saw a four-fold increase in bird species on five recently erected power-poles. There was also a seven-fold increase in bird species across five re-purposed dead trees.

In a separate project on the same site, the birds were captured on motion-sensitive cameras hidden in the artificial structures, with the footage providing a public database for species activity.

Associate Professor Philip Gibbons from the ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society wanted to test whether artificial structures could be used to provide a home for birds and other wildlife when mature trees were cut down for residential and other development.

He says the artificial trees work better than he "could have ever hoped for."

"Even if we plant new trees elsewhere to replace those we knock down they take a century to mature and develop suitable habitats for birds and wildlife," Associate Professor Gibbons said.

Continued

Flock of over 50 native birds die after falling from sky bleeding from eyes

A large flock of native birds has died after a mysterious illness caused them to fall from the sky, bleeding from their eyes and beaks. WARNING: Graphic

news.com.au JULY 15, 20198:18AM

WARNING: Graphic

Dozens of native corella birds have died overnight after they fell from the sky in an Adelaide outer suburb.

Bleeding from their eyes and beaks, more than 50 gravely ill birds began falling from the sky at a soccer oval in One Tree Hill, a suburb on the outskirts of Adelaide, about 2.30pm yesterday.

Volunteers from Casper’s Bird Rescue, founded by Sarah King, desperately tried to help the long-billed corellas, running to the oval and calling out for extra help on Facebook.

Ms King originally received a tip the birds had been shot, but vets working on the birds suspect they may have been poisoned.

Children at a nearby school who were attending vacation care saw a number of the sick and dying birds bleeding from their eyes and beaks, according to Yahoo.

According to Ms King, 11 volunteers arrived on the site yesterday at 2.30pm and stayed until 11pm collecting the 58 injured birds that were suffering and in great pain.

The volunteers took the birds to two different vets. Of the birds collected, 57 have now died, with “one possible survivor”, Ms Hill told news.com.au.

A conclusive necropsy has not yet been performed to detect poisons, news.com.au understands.

Continued

Antarctic fulmars return home after rescue effort

JULY 12 2019 - 3:52PM

Jesinta Burton

Two southern fulmars have been given a second chance at life after being found more than 5,000 kilometres from their home in Antarctica and nursed back to health by volunteers from the state's Seabird Rescue group.

The pair were released in Albany earlier this week after one was discovered in a retirement village in Australind and another was found on the canals in Halls Head in June.

Though the seabirds were among five to be found, they were the only ones to survive.

Western Australian Seabird Rescue spokesperson Fiona O'Sullivan said the birds' recovery had been a month-long process, having been exhausted, weak and underweight when they came into care.

"These fulmars, their minimum weight is typically around 700 grams," Ms O'Sullivan said.

"A couple of the fulmars that have come in have only weighed about 430 grams, which is a lot less than what they need to be.

"They came into care, thanks to a very experienced carer in Baldivis. 

"Initially, we only feed them fluids to rehydrate them and then we gradually reintroduce foods to help building up their strength.

"I transported the birds to our experienced carer in Albany and she continued their care until they were both released."

Southern fulmars typically breed in colonies on the Antarctic Peninsula, moving north during the winter months away from the pack ice.

Ms O'Sullivan said it was very unusual to see the birds in WA, and even more unusual for the rescue group to have two in its care at the same time.

"They're birds that live out on the ocean and they're from Antarctica, so we very rarely see them," she said. 

Read on

Chick flick: cockatoo gives anti-nesting spikes the bird in viral video

Footage shows Australian parrot breaching building’s defences with delight

Josh Taylor

Fri 5 Jul 2019 03.36 BSTLast modified on Fri 5 Jul 2019 17.55 BST

Footage capturing a rebellious sulphur-crested cockatoo’s triumph over bird guard spikes has gone viral on Facebook.

The video’s title is ‘F*** the police’

The video posted on the social network – titled “F*** the police” – by Isaac Sherring-Tito shows the cockatoo perched high on a ledge above a street slowly pulling away and ripping off the spikes installed to prevent birds like the cockatoo from perching on the ledge.

The camera pans down to reveal that the cockatoo has been ripping off the spikes for the entire length of the ledge.

The video was shared on Monday and has had more than 17,000 shares, and close to 3,000 comments at the time of reporting.

Sherring-Tito told Guardian Australia he had filmed the cockatoo’s defiant act in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney on Monday.

The ledge in question is above the Town Centre Arcade on Katoomba Street, and the cockatoo is infamous in the area.

Sean Dooley, the editor of Australian Birdlife magazine, said cockatoos “seem to take great enjoyment” out of doing that sort of damage, “whether it is random vandalism or more strategic damage”.

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