As many of my mates know I have long been fascinated with Princess Parrots, and having enjoyed them in the wild on my Aus trip in 2008 on two different occasions. I have been wondering about their association with Desert Oaks. Hanzab lists *Casuarina petiole *as a food item for Princess but I would suggest it is much more valuable to them as a haven for rest in between feeding.
While Greg Little and I had the joy of watching one flock for a considerable length of time in late afternoon in early Sept. it didnt appear that the desert oaks were being used for food on that occasion. It seemed to me that the biggest benefit was that the Princess could enjoy loafing and courting in these trees and when alerted by members of the flock drop like bullets off the branch and bolt off over the dunes. Then swoop gracefully upward and land in another casuarina.
Falcons were in good numbers while we were there especially brown falcons. I am speculating that the whispy blowing foilage of the casuarina is a perfect place to rest from the eyes of avian predators. I feel quite confident that Brown Falcons as well as others must take Princess and are a serious consideration where they are found. I have seen pictures of a Hobby Falcon with a Blue Bonnet kill and both Princess and Blue Bonnets often have similar body weights. (Forshaw) So I propose that size would not be an issue. So in essence I am thinking that desert oak are invaluable as a place to perch, rest, court, and make a bolting exit if needed. Since as they say a picture is worth a thousand words here are some pictures of wild princess making great use of desert oaks as cover. http://polytelismedia.wordpress.com/2008/09/ Please scroll down to the blog entries of September 7 and 8.
Congratulations again to Ian May regarding his amazing Princess adventure!
Don Kimball www.polytelismedia.wordpress.com ===============================
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