Galah Eolophus roseicapillus

Galahs on my front lawn in 2005.

The Galahs here in Tenterfield are one of the bird species that migrated elsewhere when the drought became a bit severe. They used to live in Tenterfield in large flocks and were sometimes seen flocking with Sulphur-crested Cockatoos.

Ocassionally Galahs are seen in Tenterfield but it is rather infrequent. When they are old enough they form a permanent bond with a bird of the opposite gender which become lifelong mating pairs. Galahs live to be about 80 human years of age.

One of the unusual antics of Galahs in Tenterfield is when it rains they love to hang upside down on the power lines. It is quite funny watching them going around in circles like an acrobat on a wire. This behaviour is not seen in Galahs in Whyalla or Mannum (South Australia) so I'm not sure if this is a normal behaviour for the Galah species or if it is a learned behaviour of the Tenterfield galahs.

I don't know about Galahs elsewhere in Australia but in Tenterfield these birds tend to go beserk and fly about chasing each other at full speed. I have seen them ocassionally dive bombing passing cars for the fun of it and sometimes even chasing other birds. When chasing other Galahs or other birds they do so roughly 20-30 feet off the ground half the time. Other times they chase each other at a higher altitude. Galahs are quite the silly bird, do not fear anything, and always appear to be having fun.