Major Mitchell Cockatoo courtship

Not quite the pink parrots we were aiming at on our recent trip to central australia, but a great sight indeed was a pair of Major Mitchells just west of Erldunda. We stopped on the side of the highway in the hope of getting a few photos even though it was really windy and we assumed they would fly off if i tried to get close. Imagine our surprise when two of the birds flew to the ground, then started to circle each other and then mated! I had never witnessed the circling behaviour where they walked in opposite directions checking each other out before copulating. I assume this is nothing new and that HANZAB etc already know about it but we found it fascinating anyway. I have posted a series of photos on my pbase site if anyone would like to have a look. (Ignore the first 3 images from Bowra) http://www.pbase.com/davidstowe/major_mitchells_cockatoo

Cheers David Stowe ===============================

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