Sulphur-crested Cockatoo in Big City Birds App spotted by Kate Farkas on 22.06.2024

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo spotted by Kate Farkas: “This cockatoo was sitting by itself in an oak tree on ANU campus. It was breaking off branches, and rather than eating buds, it was licking each individual oak leaf before dropping the branch and grabbing a new one. Upon further inspection, every leaf of this tree was covered in aphids and there didn’t seem to be any ants taking advantage of their honeydew, so the honeydew was splattered over the surface of the leaves. I think that this cockatoo was licking the honeydew off of the leaves. Is aphid honeydew a common food source for cockatoos, or is this a new behaviour? I took a video recording of this behaviour - I couldn’t find a way to upload it to this app, but would be happy to provide the video via email if requested.” in the Big City Birds App on 22.06.2024

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