Galah

[den]

I could hear the squawks of a galah near the front door this afternoon. When I investigated I found the bird sitting on the front step, looking though the mesh door. It walked inside when I opened the door.

It sits on my hand, enjoys scritches and is very friendly. It's obviously an aviary escapee but I don't know where from since there are no large-parrot aviaries around here - it's all bugies for my neighbours. It's a juvenile: the feathers on its neck are fringed with grey.

The dogs investigated the bird immediately, but some judicious nips have given the bird a personal space of 1 metre on all sides. Poor Scruffy turned his back on the galah and it attacked him! It hung on to his tail while he ran in circles.

So now that we have established the pecking order (so to speak) the bird has settled into the back yard.

Now what do I do? I suspect it was raised in a small cage since it can't fly. It's "unreleasable" so technically I should euthanise it. And so I have. It has been euthanised into my back yard where it can hide in the trees.

Comments

[tatterdemalion.livejournal.com]

You're a Top Bloke Batty..

Good on ya cock!!

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

I'll bet the galah learns to fly eventually. At any rate, it seems to be able to hold its own with the dogs. Can you offer it a feeding station outdoors, if necessary?

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

The bird (I can't call it polly. That would confuse the dog) is feeding off seed I've scattered on the ground. When it gets used to that I'll start setting up a feeder. Hopefully that will attract wild galahs that will show Bird how to be a bird.

[weyrdbird.livejournal.com]

Now that's what I call a dead parrot!:D

Sorry, had to say it.......:D!

You could call the parrot Praline, it's what they call the character John Cleese plays in that sketch.

[tygermoonfoxx.livejournal.com]

Good for you! If left alone in the back yard, it might either learn to fly on its own or be encouraged to fly....but I don't suppose that's terribly good as I didn't think that parrots were native to Australia.

Perhaps you've gained a new pet?

I really wish sometimes your adventures were Animal Planet videos; I'm always wondering what you're going to do next. No more bats? Or just a slow season for them? I don't think you've mentioned helping any in quite a while.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Australia has a few native parrots. Galahs (a type of cockatoo) are as common as rocks in Australia. We had to keep trees away from my house, in Australia, as we got all our drinking water from rain falling on the roof and running into the cistern, and if we'd had galahs, which perched in our trees in massive flocks, we would have been drinking much poo.

This is what the trees where I lived looked like:
http://bluebonnet.tripod.co.jp/Galah3.jpg

other pics:
http://www.qsl.net/vk6xc/images/antenna-galah.jpg
http://www.2docstock.com/galleries/Gallery%20A%20-Animals%20&%20Nature/pages/GALAHS.htm
http://bluebonnet.tripod.co.jp/Galah2.jpg
http://hillcrestbb.com/images/galahs2.jpg (some days the green belt around Adelaide looks like this)
http://www.mintabieopalfield.com/towntour/galahs-lg.jpg
http://www.zi.ku.dk/personal/drnash/media/oz99/galahs1.jpg

For what it's worth, I've seen these birds sold for $US3500 each, in America.

[elynne.livejournal.com]

They're certainly attractive birds. :) Are they very noisy?

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

When my host sister and I got really chatty, my host dad would say, "You two sound like a flock of galahs!"

So . . . yes. :)

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

When you have flock of 100+ all going SQUEE and YACK-ACK! they get a bit noisy. 8)

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

We have a lot of parrots here, but nothing as spectacular as Macaws and other South American birds. But don't forget budgerigahs are Aussie birds. 8) The wild ones are a dull olive green.

Galahs are called Rose-breasted cockatoos Over There. They're native to this area, along with sulfur-crested cockatoos, rosellas, red-rumped parrots, and the occasional king parrot.

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

I haven't had a bat call for nearly 12 moths. I don't know what's happened. Maybe they started to look after themselves.

[kittiwake.livejournal.com]

Your address has obviously made it onto the wild things' grapevine. From now on, they'll all be turning up in your back yard when they need anything !

Iseult.

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

Oh... goody. Soon I'll have a house full of animals like Dr Doolittle.

[weyrdbird.livejournal.com]

Wow! You've been adopted! A feeding station might be the best option. Maybe if it sees other birds in flight it will eventually figure out what those stubby flappy things are for once the feathers do grow in. And unless they are clipped they *will* eventually. If it's that friendly surely it must belong to someone in the vicinity if it can't fly.

Sounds like the bird knows its way around dogs:). It's a escapee pet more than likely. I suspect it landed out of hunger, and humans=food department to it more than likely. It does make one wonder, however........

"There was this bloke who fixed my wing. Thought I was done for when that bloody great bird got me.
Room service and everything short of forcing the grubs down my neck three times a day! Now *that's* hospital treatment.Even had me own private tent with a view!"

*mrf*

[jonnorthwood.livejournal.com]

It's a pity they won't allow you to have it couriered over here. We'd give it a good home.

Good for you, tho, taking care of it this way.

Yet again......

[penpouring.livejournal.com]

....you have saved another soul - this planet needs more people like you. I see myself living in your backyard during my retirement years if I do not end up studying the colonies in the caves of South America. Check out this info I've learned...
http://64.4.22.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=8ed593c16fad57ffe41cf5ff23dfdaf9&lat=1042318154&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2emsnbc%2ecom%2fnews%2f857215%2easp%3fcp1%3d1
....and thanx again for your noble and kind services young GALAHad!!

oops

[penpouring.livejournal.com]

OOOPS! I meant this :http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/DailyNews/stroke_bat030109.html

[arcturax.livejournal.com]

The craziest things always happen to you Batty, especially when animals are involved!

Glad you spared the birds life and gave him somewhere where he can live and be happy.

The animals in and around Dubbo must all know where to come for help by now ;)