They might look cute but these fellas have a big attitude. My friend was complaining recently about birds swooping at her outside her home and it turned out that they were Little Corellas. I think that they’re only likely to swoop at people when they are breeding though.
When I was taking pictures of them at Lake Joondalup one tried to chase off a pigeon that was feeding too close. When the pigeon didn’t move, the corella grabbed it by the tail and screeched at it while dragging it along.
There are often a few mixed in with the Long-Billed Corellas at Joondalup and they tend to be quite aggressive to their Long-Billed cousins. They seem to be less friendly and confident so it’s harder to get close for a photo.
A couple of months ago I was driving along when a massive flock of Little Corellas appeared ahead. They landed on the verges, on the central reservation and in the trees. I pulled into a car park and managed to get some pictures on my mobile phone (apologies for the quality).
Some were eating seeds from cones in the trees, the rest were grazing on the grassroots. When they fly over they make quite a racket, chattering and screeching so it would be hard not to notice them. They’re sometimes found on their own or in a pair, or sometimes seen in these huge flocks.
In fact, sometimes they’re in flocks of over a thousand and are now considered by many to be a pest. If you are a farmer and a thousand of these appear to feed on your crops it must be hard to see a cute side. I hope this flock sticks to the verges and parkland where we can enjoy them without them being a nuisance and hopefully, I can get some photos of their chicks in a couple of month’s time.