Paddy Morgan wrote:
>
> in Caboolture, ... have recently
> noticed some trees that have marks on them like they have been
> attacked with a small axe but we have been told that yellow tail black
> cockatoos do this.
Judy and Sandy Buchan
Yes, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos do chop their way into wattle trunks
in particular - but also eucalypts and others. They are seeking
wood-boring moth and beetle grubs. They see the grub's droppings and
sawdust at the hole, and locate the grub exactly by listening for it
chewing. Then they chop a long splinter from the trunk, leaving it
hinged at the bottom, and sit on this, as if on an axeman's board, while
they mine the grub out. Clearly a skilled process. It can take half an
hour. Worth watching.
Anthea Fleming in Ivanhoe, Vic.
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