united through the games - integrated units © state of victoria, 2005 meet karak’s family

United through the Games - Integrated units © State of Victoria, 2005

Meet Karak’s Family


South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo - www.redtail.com.au

There are five sub-species of Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo.

The sub-species, South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo

(Calyptorhynchus banksii graptogyne) is only found in south-east South Australia

and south-west Victoria. (See map next screen)


The range of the South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo.


Melbourne

Adelaide

South Australia Victoria



South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo have a slow, loping wing-beat.



South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo pair (female on the left).



South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo pair, female has a white bill.



Only

800 – 1000

South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos

remain.


South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo feed on the seed of buloke (Allocasuarina leuhmannii). Only 2% of buloke remain across the bird’s range, many as isolated paddock trees. The

buloke fruits in late summer/autumn.




Clumps of bulokes have been left in some ploughed paddocks and a few remain along the roadside.


Remnant paddock trees continue to be removed to make way for pivot irrigation

systems.



Thick buloke regeneration through suckering has occurred along roadsides since roadside stock grazing ceased in the 1960s. Buloke trees take on average 100 years to produce

seed for South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos.



Brown and Desert Stringybark seeds are eaten by the South-eastern Red-tailed Black Cockatoos throughout the year.

South-eastern Red-tailed Black Cockatoo - www.redtail.com.au


South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos chew small branchlets, hold them in the left foot while extracting the seed from the

capsule, and discard the leftovers, leaving a tell-tale carpet of chewings beneath the tree.




They nest in live and dead hollow trees. These paddock red gums. The trees were ring-barked early last century.

Where are the trees to replace them in the future?



South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos also nest in living trees.


South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos will incubate one egg. Once hatched, it takes almost 3 months for the young chick to fledge and leave the nest.



Cattle rub against remnant trees. This ring-barking will eventually kill them.

South-eastern Red-tailed Black Cockatoo - www.redtail.com.au



A ring-barked buloke tree.


Frequent fire in stringybark forests reduces the amount of seed available for the South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo.



Legislation protecting dead, hollow trees preferred for nesting by South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos, has been introduced

in South Australia and Victoria.



Fencing off remaining South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo habitat is the best way to protect and ensure regeneration

into the future.




Karak in stringybark at Casterton with volunteers.

united through the games - integrated units © state of victoria, 2005 meet karak’s family

Documents

southwest victoria

screen slide

buloke trees

meet karaks family slide

buloke fruits

thick buloke regeneration

southeast south australia

remnant paddock trees