Hi Guys, On a walk last Sunday at the mouth of the Shoalhaven River NSW, we were lucky to see a small flock of Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos at close range. One of the birds flew to the ground, walked to the water’s edge and appeared to start drinking what would be salt water. I am not sure of the exact degree of salinity of the water here , but the ocean is not far away. I have not observed this behaviour before and just wondered if this is unusual. I have uploaded some photos at http://s1079.photobucket.com/user/MandPBirds/library/Yellow-tailed%20Black-C ockatoo%20Shoalhaven%20Heads%20NSW?sort=9&page=1 Thanks, Martin Potter
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I don’t know anything about the ability of Black-Cockatoos to drink saline water, but the behavioural and physiological abilities of several other Australian bird species to do this is well documented. Australian species that are known to drink and physiologically tolerate saline water include Galah, Zebra Finch, all the chat species, Spinifex Pigeon, Diamond Dove and the Western Australian populations of the White-browed Scrubwren. There are probably many more species (e.g. arid and semi-arid zone bird species, including parrots and cockatoos), but the species that I have listed are ones that immediately come to mind. Professor Erik Skadhauge of the University of Copenhagen did some of this work while he was on sabbatical leave at the University of Western Australia in the mid 1970s. This resulted in him publishing several scientific papers on his Australian studies, all of which are referred to in a global context in his ground-breaking book: Skadhauge, E. (1981). Osmoregulation in Birds (Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg). Another good reference to this subject is Bradshaw, S.D. (2003). Vertebrate Ecophysiology: An Introduction to its Principles and Applications (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK). This text summarises a lot of work that has been conducted on the drinking requirements and abilities of Australian birds that have been conducted since Skadhauge’s research in Western Australia. Stephen Ambrose Ryde NSW —–Original Message—– Eric.Vanderduys@csiro.au Sent: Wednesday, 26 November 2014 12:51 PM Hi Martin, Did you taste the water to see if there was discernible saltiness? Regards, Eric Vanderduys Technical Officer CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences Phone: +61 7 4753 8529 | Fax: +61 7 4753 8600 | Mobile: 0437 330 961 eric.vanderduys@csiro.au | http://www.csiro.au | http://www.csiro.au/people/Eric.Vanderduys.html Address: CSIRO, PMB PO, Aitkenvale, Qld 4814. Deliveries: CSIRO, ATSIP, Bld 145 James Cook Drive, James Cook University Douglas Campus, Townsville Qld 4814, AUSTRALIA —–Original Message—– Martin Potter Sent: Wednesday, 26 November 2014 9:27 AM Hi Guys, On a walk last Sunday at the mouth of the Shoalhaven River NSW, we were lucky to see a small flock of Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos at close range. One of the birds flew to the ground, walked to the water’s edge and appeared to start drinking what would be salt water. I am not sure of the exact degree of salinity of the water here , but the ocean is not far away. I have not observed this behaviour before and just wondered if this is unusual. I have uploaded some photos at http://s1079.photobucket.com/user/MandPBirds/library/Yellow-tailed%20Black-C ockatoo%20Shoalhaven%20Heads%20NSW?sort=9&page=1 Thanks, Martin Potter
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Hi Martin, Did you taste the water to see if there was discernible saltiness? Regards, Eric Vanderduys Technical Officer CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences Phone: +61 7 4753 8529 | Fax: +61 7 4753 8600 | Mobile: 0437 330 961 eric.vanderduys@csiro.au | http://www.csiro.au | http://www.csiro.au/people/Eric.Vanderduys.html Address: CSIRO, PMB PO, Aitkenvale, Qld 4814. Deliveries: CSIRO, ATSIP, Bld 145 James Cook Drive, James Cook University Douglas Campus, Townsville Qld 4814, AUSTRALIA —–Original Message—– Sent: Wednesday, 26 November 2014 9:27 AM Hi Guys, On a walk last Sunday at the mouth of the Shoalhaven River NSW, we were lucky to see a small flock of Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos at close range. One of the birds flew to the ground, walked to the water’s edge and appeared to start drinking what would be salt water. I am not sure of the exact degree of salinity of the water here , but the ocean is not far away. I have not observed this behaviour before and just wondered if this is unusual. I have uploaded some photos at http://s1079.photobucket.com/user/MandPBirds/library/Yellow-tailed%20Black-C ockatoo%20Shoalhaven%20Heads%20NSW?sort=9&page=1 Thanks, Martin Potter
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Don’t forget that in estuarine environments – depending on tide, wind & rain, river flow etc. conditions – varying amounts of freshwater would sit on top of salt (which is much denser) water. Mixing can be very limited in the right circumstances. So they may have been drinking quite fresh water? Sent from my iPad
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