The mysterious tail of the
Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 8:00 
Glossy Black cockatooAnyone who finds a dead Glossy Black cockatoo has been asked to leave its tail feathers intact.
The tail feathers can provide valuable information for researchers, who are willing to give the bird finder some that have been collected from moultings.
Following overnight rain on March 3 it appears birds were attracted to puddles on wet roads and unfortunately some were killed by traffic. One of the small Kangaroo Island population of about 350 Glossy Black cockatoos was found dead beside the Playford Highway, but its tail feathers had already been removed.
If members of the public find unusual birds or other wildlife dead they are encouraged to report this a soon as possible to a nearby DEH office, because specimens can sometimes provide important data useful for management and conservation of local populations.
In the case of Glossy Black cockatoos, a significant portion of the population is marked with a metal leg band before leaving the nest but researchers seldom get to examine adults, except with a telescope.
Even dried bones and feathers can provide useful information, particularly if there is a metal band found also. Reporting of leg bands when found by the public provides crucial pieces of data in the study and conservation of these birds.
DEH staff, contractors and researchers have built considerable knowledge of glossy black cockatoo ecology since the recovery program for the species began 14 years ago.
Much information about moult and plumage development is lost once a tail is removed (contained in tail feather markings, fading and worn edges) so if re-united with its tail, the cockatoo found recently would provide much more useful information and will be preserved as a specimen for the SA Museum.
Cockatoo researchers find the odd moulted feather in the course of their work and these could be willingly exchanged for those removed from the road-killed cockatoo.
Lynn Pedler - field biologist