Re: Vandalistic galahs

["Ian Temby"<>]

Ian,
I suspect that this behaviour may be beak maintenance chewing, something
cockatoos are well-known for.  Often, the birds chew twigs or chew at
branches they perch on.  If they land on insulated cables, they chew at the
insulation.  In your case, I think they may have simply discovered that the
bark on that tree was very rewarding to chew (rather like Sulphur-crested
Cockatoos chewing at Western Red Cedar timber on houses), so they kept at
it!  It's tempting to call it vandalism, but I don't believe there's any
malicious intent (try telling that to grape growers who see Long-billed
Corellas snipping off ripe bunches of grapes and watching them fall-they
don't even eat any.)

Cheers

Ian