Macaw wrote:
>
> Jan England wrote:
> >
> > What do you call a sulphur-crested cockatoo crossed with a galah?
> >
> > A cocklah of course (my interpretation)!
> I beg your pardon, but I thought that two species couldn't interbreed,
> and that if they DID manage, that the offspring would be infertile?
> Tom
Hybrids between some species of cockatoo are not unknown in the
wild, and are also found in aviculture. These almost all are
between the "white" cockatoos, I know of no records of hybrids
between the black Cockatoos, apart from the subspecies of
Red-tailed Blacks.
There are records of the Gang Gang hybridising with both Galahs
and Corellas, with a record of a Gang Gang hen (wild) and a
Little Corella (escaped) producing a hybrid in the Blue
Mountains.
Galahs have been reported as producing hybrids with the Gang
Gang, Sulphur Crested, Major Mitchell, Little Corella and
Long-billed Corella. Some of these are aviary records only but
Forshaw records wild hybrids with Majors and Little Corellas.
Cockatiels have been reported as hybridising with Red-rumps and
Blue-winged parrots, while perhaps the most unlikely hybrid is a
Princess parrot with an Indian Ringneck!
Most of these hybrids are fortunately infertile, however I
believe the Galah/Major cross can be fertile. Most inter-species
crosses are infertile, for instance the
Turquoisine/Scarlet-chested Parrot hybrid is always infertile,
however the Scaly-breasted/Rainbow Lorikeet hybrid is always
fertile.
Intentional breeding of hybrids in Queensland, and I think all
other states, is illegal, so that lady on the Tablelands breeding
Sulphur/Galah hybrids had better be careful.
cheers,
Mike Owen
Queensland
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