Little corella

The first recorded description of the species was by English ornithologist John Gould in 1843. There are four subspecies as follows: • C. s. sanguinea • C. s. normantoni • C. s. transfreta • C. s. gymnopis • C. s. westralensis (Mathews 1917) Little corella (Cacatua sanguinea sanguinea) in flight Kakadu.jpg|C. s. sanguinea, Northern Territory Little corella (Cacatua sanguinea gymnopis) in flight Blanchetown.jpg|C. c. gymnopis, South Australia ==Description==

The little corella is a small white cockatoo growing to in length and weighs , with a mean weight of . It is similar in appearance to both the long-billed corella and the western corella, but the little corella is smaller, and unlike either of those species, it has upper and lower mandibles of similar length. It is easily distinguished from the long-billed corella by the lack of an orange throat bar. C. s. normantoni and C. s. transfreta are a little smaller than the nominate form. C. s. normantoni is lightly brownish on the underside of flight and tail feathers. C. s. gymnopis has darker blue eye-rings, more strongly marked pink lores and a yellow wash to the lower-ear coverts. ==Distribution and habitat==

The little corella is native to mainland Australia, in a broad arc from eastern South Australia through Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory around to coastal Western Australia. It is also native to southern New Guinea and has been introduced to Tasmania. and can be destructive to the trees in which they perch, by chewing the bark off smaller twigs. ==Behaviour==

Little corellas congregate in flocks of up to several thousand, which often include other birds such as galahs, sulphur-crested cockatoos and red-tailed black cockatoos. They generally roost in trees overnight, and fly off to feed in the early morning before returning in the late evening. Flocks will often fly many kilometres between their feeding and roosting areas, and in desert areas must also fly to watering holes twice a day, while corellas which live in coastal areas do not have to fly long distances to find water. Call The call consists of high pitched notes and screeches somewhat similar to the sulfur-crested cockatoo. Large flocks will call simultaneously and can create a deafening screeching sound audible from several kilometers away. Breeding , New South Wales Breeding occurs from May to October, and usually takes place earlier in the north of its range. The nest is usually in a tree hollow, cliff cavity or termite mound. Playing When little corellas play, they become very noisy. They have conversations with each other, fly around and also show off. Little corellas show off by hanging themselves upside-down with their feet, beaks or both. ==Relationship to humans==

In the state of South Australia, little corellas are considered "unprotected native fauna" and may be shot (without a permit), trapped or gassed (with a permit) by landowners. Permits are also available to take a limited number of little corellas from the wild each year for avicultural purposes. ==Threats==

In July 2019, in a scene that was said to resemble a "horror movie", about 60 corellas in Adelaide, South Australia, died in a suspected case of poisoning, after "falling from the sky", bleeding from their mouths, and wailing. At least 57 of the birds were long-billed corellas, with the rest being short-billed corellas. It was hoped that whoever poisoned them would get traced after a toxicology report, since Australia requires registration for purchasing poisons. The testing could, however, take several weeks to complete. Additionally, the local Alexandrina council had, beforehand, called for short-billed corellas to be culled for damaging crops and chewing on streetlights, damaging built infrastructure such as buildings and sporting equipment, and displacing other native species of birds and bees, possums, and other organisms. ==References==