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12

Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo
- Aboriginal information

(Calyptorhynchus banksii)
Alternative names: "Banks's Black Cockatoo", "Banksian Black Cockatoo"
Aboriginal names: "wyralla", "anulka", "yarbi" (WA);
Race "banksii": "pachang" [pakanh], "inhulg" [uw oykangand], "anhulg" [uw olkola]
Race "naso": "karak" [noongar]
Race "samueli": "dirandi" (WA), "iranti" [pitjantjatjara]
Race "macrorhynchus": "ngarnarrh", "karnamarr-to" [gunwinggu]
Race "graptogyne": "treen" [bungandidj]
Size: 50-65 cm
Weight: 670-920 g (male), 615-870 g (female)

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Spiritual significance

The Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo features in Aboriginal creation stories. A few examples are reproduced or listed here.

R. A. Roberts and C. P. Mountford tell the story of "The Mopaditis and the Black Cockatoos" (1968 ed.), p. 70. This story from Melville Island explains that flocks of Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos are so noisy because they announce the coming of a new spirit to the Aboriginal "heaven".

Disclaimer: Not being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin, we make no claim of intellectual ownership of any of the information presented here. We merely collect facts and stories documented by others. Credits/references are listed HERE.

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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