With wings raised, it seemed to be a case of “I’m bigger than you!” and “Oh no, you’re not!” on the bird feeder this week. We have seen more Cockatoos than usual. They squabble among themselves for best position, squeezing out the regular feeders, such as this Common Bronzewing Pigeon. The Pigeon decided to muscle in on two feeding Cockatoos, walking around with two raised wings and a puffed out chest to create space for itself. One of the Cockatoos decided to open its wings in response.
I think both species of birds have beautiful colour beneath the wings. It’s quite clear how the Bronzewing Pigeon got its name..
Fifteen Acres 
Great shot! Sulphur Crested Cockatoos sell for around two thousand each in the U.S. Here they are now available only if captive bred.
Thank you Tom. 🙂 I love watching the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos flying around. They really enjoy their wings as well as their voices. Sometimes they race around in the air, flying through gaps in trees and swooping low over the dam for no apparent reason other than to have fun. After witnessing this as an almost daily event, the thought of putting one in a cage makes me sad. Lisa
And a lovely show of the underwings it is too!
Yes! 🙂 Thank you.
There is a wetlands not far from here and the Sulphur Cresteds love the area, driving home I often see them flying over the traffic and setting themselves up on top of the light poles. They screech at the traffic but it never stops invading their space.
Yes, they can be loud! The ones which live on our place are generally not loud, but are good ‘guard dogs’ in that they let me know if something unusual is happening. Their alarm call is different to the loud screeching they make when they are just ‘hooning’ around. Sometimes I can’t figure out what is wrong, but often it is a visitors car, or a stray cat or dog hanging around. They know what usually happens and are quick to point out the unusual. 🙂 Lisa
Around here the Rainbow Lorikeets and Magpies let me know if there is a fox or cat about. My sister-in-law was thrilled to have a Sulphur Crested visiting her bird feeder until it became aggressive, demanding food and attacking parts of the pergola. Now she just has wild ducks wandering into her lounge in search of dog food if she forgets to shut the screen door. Wildlife is fun. 🙂
I laughed aloud at the thought of the wild ducks wandering into the lounge room! 🙂 The wild ducks here will come close to the house, but retreat to the dam if they see a person standing up. People sitting down are OK. 🙂 I have one Cockatoo who screeches for food, but he is neither aggressive nor destructive. He just likes me to talk to him. I know this because if I put seed directly onto the feeder without talking to him, he will wait for me to come back to the deck and talk to him before he flies to the feeder. I call him ‘Cheeky’ as he hangs upside down from the gutter to look for me. It feels like such a privilege to have wild birds seeking to make contact.
Wow! Down here in suburban Melbourne I only get sparrows and other introduced birds coming to the feeder! But I am planting native trees and shrubs and the honeyeaters peopulation is booming! Thanks for showing this adorable showdown!
Our garden is a work in progress and still we don’t have flowers all year around, which is my aim. However, some times of the year, we also have a lot of honeyeaters. I’m hoping to attract more too.