Galah

The galah (/ɡəˈlɑː/; Eolophus roseicapilla), also known as the pink and grey cockatoo, is one of the most common and widespread cockatoos and it can be found in open country in almost all parts of mainland Australia.

This article is about the bird species. For the locality in Australia, see Galah, Victoria.

Galah
A male galah in Tasmania

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Cacatuidae
Genus: Eolophus
Bonaparte, 1854
Species:
E. roseicapilla
Binomial name
Eolophus roseicapilla
(Vieillot, 1817)
Subspecies
  • E. r. roseicapilla
  • E. r. albiceps
  • E. r. kuhli
Galah range (in red; all-year resident)
Synonyms
  • Cacatua roseicapilla Vieillot, 1817
  • Eolophus roseicapillus Sibley and Monroe, 1990

It is endemic on the mainland and was introduced to Tasmania,[2] where its distinctive pink and grey plumage and its bold and loud behaviour make it a familiar sight in the bush and increasingly in urban areas. It appears to have benefited from the change in the landscape since European colonisation and may be replacing the Major Mitchell's cockatoo in parts of its range.

The term galah is derived from gilaa, a word found in Yuwaalaraay and neighbouring Aboriginal languages.[3]

Description

Galahs are about 35 cm (14 in) long and weigh 270–350 g (10–12 oz). They have a pale silver to mid-grey back, a pale grey rump, a pink face and chest, and a light pink mobile crest. They have a bone-coloured beak, and the bare skin of the eye rings is carunculated. They have grey legs. The sexes appear similar; however, generally adult birds differ in the colour of the irises; the male has very dark brown (almost black) irises and the female has mid-brown or red irises. The colours of the juveniles are duller than the adults. Juveniles have greyish chests, crowns, and crests, and they have brown irises and whitish bare eye rings, which are not carunculated.[4]

  • Female, note her reddish eye
  • A juvenile galah feeding on a metropolitan lawn in Sydney
  • Juvenile in Wamboin, New South Wales

Distribution and habitat

Galahs are found in all Australian states, and are absent only from the driest areas and the far north of Cape York Peninsula. Whether they are native to Tasmania is still uncertain, though records exist from as early as the 1840s, and they are locally common today, especially in urban areas.[5] They are common in some metropolitan areas, for example Adelaide, Perth, and Melbourne, and common to abundant in open habitats that offer at least some scattered trees for shelter. The changes brought by European settlement, a disaster for many species, have been highly beneficial for the galah because of the clearing of forests in fertile areas and the provision of stock-watering points in arid zones.

Flocks of galahs often congregate and forage on foot for food in open, grassy areas.

Classification

The classification of the galah was difficult. It was separated in the monotypic genus Eolophus, but the further relationships were not clear. Obvious morphological similarities are shared between the galah and the white cockatoos that make up the genus Cacatua and indeed the galah was initially described as Cacatua roseicapilla. Early DNA studies allied the galah with the cockatiel or placed it close to some Cacatua species of completely different appearance. In consequence, the ancestors of the galah, the cockatiel and Major Mitchell's cockatoo were thought to have diverged from the main white cockatoo line at some stage prior to that group's main radiation; this was indeed correct except for the placement of the cockatiel. Ignorance of this fact, however, led to attempts to resolve the evolutionary history and prehistoric biogeography of the cockatoos, which ultimately proved fruitless because they were based on invalid assumptions to start with.

It fell to the study of Brown & Toft (1999) to compare the previously available data with their mitochondrial 12S rRNA sequence research and resolve the issue. Today, the galah is seen, along with Major Mitchell's cockatoo, as an early divergence from the white cockatoo lineage, which has not completely lost its ability to produce an overall pink (Major Mitchell's) or pink and grey (galah) body plumage, while already being light in colour and non-sexually dimorphic. The significance of these two (and other) characteristics shared by the Cacatuinae had previously been explained away in earlier studies by strict application of parsimony on misinterpreted data.

Subspecies

Three subspecies are usually recognised. Slight variation exists in the colours of the plumage and in the extent of the carunculation of the eye rings among the three subspecies. The south-eastern form, E. r. albiceps, is clearly distinct from the paler-bodied Western Australian nominate subspecies, E. r. roseicapilla, although the extent and nature of the central hybrid zone remains undefined. Most pet birds outside Australia are the south-eastern form. The third form, E. r. kuhli, found right across the northern part of the continent, tends to be a little smaller and is distinguished by differences in the shape and colour of the crest, although its status as a valid subspecies is uncertain.

Breeding
Female E. r. albiceps displaying her crest outside her nest in Tasmania, Australia

The galah nests in tree cavities. The eggs are white, usually two to five in a clutch. The eggs are incubated for about 25 days, and the male and female share the incubation. The chicks leave the nest about 49 days after hatching.[6]

Lifespan

Living in captivity, galahs can reach up to 80 years of age when a good-quality diet is strictly followed. They socialise adequately and can engage playfully in entertainment activities to support the overall very intelligent nature of the bird. In their natural habitat, galahs are unlikely to reach the age of 20 years, falling victim to traffic, predators such as the little eagle and black and peregrine falcons, and human persecution in some agricultural areas. Like most other cockatoos, galahs create strong, lifelong bonds with their partners.

Hybrids
A galah × corella hybrid

Aviary-bred crosses of galahs and Major Mitchell's cockatoos have been bred in Sydney, with the tapered wings of the galah and the crest and colours of the Major Mitchell's, as well as its plaintive cry. The galah has also been shown to be capable of hybridising with the cockatiel, producing offspring described by the media as 'galatiels'.[7] Galahs are known to join flocks of little corellas (Cacatua sanguinea), and are known to breed with them also.. A galah/sulphur-crested cockatoo hybrid which was hatched in 1920 was still living in the Adelaide zoo in the late 1970s, being displayed in a small cage alone near the entrance to an on-site cottage. The back feathers were a patchwork of grey tones and the breast feathers a soft apricot tone and the crest a slightly richer orange. The crest was longer that a galah crest, but without the long curl of the sulphur-crested cockatoo. The bird was not significantly larger than a galah.

Cultural references

"Galah" is also derogatory Australian slang, synonymous with 'fool', 'clown' or 'idiot'.[8] Because of the bird's distinctive bright pink colour, it is also used for gaudy dress. A detailed, yet comedic description of the Australian slang term can be found in the standup comedy performance of Paul Hogan, titled Stand Up Hoges. Another famous user of the slang "galah" is Alf Stewart from Home and Away, who is often heard saying "Flaming galah!" when he is riled by somebody.

The Australian representative team of footballers that played a series of test matches of international rules football against Irish sides in the late 1960s was nicknamed "The Galahs" (see the Australian Football World Tour).

Namesake
  • Gulargambone, New South Wales
gollark: Really, if the supernatural things some dodecahedra go on about were real, there would be books like this.
gollark: Sadly, the contents do not currently exist.
gollark: I think my favourite is the Netcleaner one.
gollark: I mean, yes, those are real images stored on i.osmarks.tk.
gollark: Intelligence.

References
  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Eolophus roseicapilla". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22684758A93045379. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22684758A93045379.en.
  2. Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment
  3. Dixon et al. (2006): p. 84.
  4. Forshaw (2006). plate 3."
  5. Sharland, Michael (1981). A Guide to the Birds of Tasmania. Hobart, Tasmania: Drinkwater. ISBN 978-0-949903-03-7.
  6. Alderton, David (2003). The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Caged and Aviary Birds. London, England: Hermes House. p. 205. ISBN 978-1-84309-164-6.
  7. Talking Birds – Australia's Avian Newspaper
  8. "Meanings and origins of Australian words and idioms". Australian National Dictionary Centre. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  • Brown, D.M. & Toft, C.A. (1999): Molecular systematics and biogeography of the cockatoos (Psittaciformes: Cacatuidae). Auk 116(1): 141–157.
  • Flegg, Jim (2002): Photographic Field Guide: Birds of Australia. Reed New Holland, Sydney & London. ISBN 1-876334-78-9
  • Forshaw, Joseph M. & Cooper, William T. (2002): Australian Parrots (3rd ed.). Alexander Editions. ISBN 0-9581212-0-6
  • Frith, Harold James & Watts, Betty Temple (1984): Birds in the Australian High Country. Angus & Robertson, London. ISBN 0-207-14464-8

Cited texts
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