Butler’s Corella

Butler’s corella
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Psittaciformes
Superfamily:	Cacatuoidea
Family:	Cacatuidae
Subfamily:	Cacatuinae
Tribe:	Cacatuini
Genus:	Cacatua
Subgenus:	Licmetis
Species:	Cacatua pastinator
Trinomial name
Cacatua pastinator butleri Ford, J., 1987

Butler's corella (Cacatua pastinator butleri) is a medium-sized white cockatoo endemic to Western Australia. It is one of two subspecies of the western corella.

Butler's corella has mainly white plumage with a distinct white crest. The undersides of the wings and tail are pale yellow. The feathers between the eye and beak are deep salmon-pink, as are the bases of the feathers on the head and underparts. The eye is surrounded by a broad grey-blue eye-ring. The white plumage is often stained with soil because of the birds’ foraging activities. The corellas range from 40–48 cm in length and 600–750 g in weight. They are very similar in appearance to Muir's corella, the nominate subspecies of the western corella.

Butler's corella is found in the northern and central wheatbelt of south-west Western Australia. Its habitat is open woodland and farmland where there are nearby trees for roosting in. It has benefited from agricultural development with access to food from cereal crops and permanent water.

Butler’s corella is gregarious and may be seen in large flocks of up to several thousand birds.

The corellas feed extensively on the seeds of cereal crops, the seeds of weeds such as Cape weed and double gee, as well as the corms of onion grass and insect larvae.

The corellas nest in tree hollows of large, mature eucalypts, including wandoo and salmon gums. Eggs are laid from August to October with a clutch size of 1-4 (averaging 2.7). The incubation period lasts 24–29 days, following which the chicks remain in the hollow for about 60 days until fledging.

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