Yellowtailed Black Cockatoos are impressively sized birds, nearly two feet from top to tail, and very noisy. They are a bit clownish as well, often hanging upside down from one foot while eating something gripped in the other foot’s claws.
Also of note, they are not kept as pets (unlike the more familar Sulfer-Crested Cockatoos)- as they have reputation for being cranky and destructive. Still, they are a joy to hear and see when they stop by our place every month or so. As a half-dozen did yesterday and today.
Sorry to be a so late posting this. I’ve been busy with the bathroom rebuild, a bit out of sorts physically, and sick-at-heart over the colossal fuck-up that is the Bush adminstrations response to Hurricane Katrina.
If I still lived in the States, I’d be down there now with the truck and the horse-trailer getting supplies to whoever I could.
On the home front, the fry (baby fish) all died, but that’s hardly tragic, as I only expected a few to make at best. The mother was a young and small, and I’m thinking the eggs were small, as they all seemed to have trouble eating, no matter how fine the food. Anyway, they were fun while they lasted, and there is always next time.