Aussie Finch Forum

Saw the news article on this; it's a neat looking bird. Could easily be confused for an entirely different species.

Is that legit or did someone cover their pet bird in charcoal?

It has black around the eyes and on the beak. Maybe it was playing in the burnt bush.

Saw a similar . . perhaps same . . in a flock situation

None of the others had any discoloration, which would tend to indicate mutant

Don't know if it is legal to trap Galahs as 'pest fauna' in S.A, but would be worth a punt if it is OK

The parrot guys would pay a motza if it is a genuine mutation . .

I don't know if it's legal to trap them but I do know you can shoot them if they are on your property destroying crops. And thousands are killed every year by councils because they are considered a pest species.

I personally think it's a waste letting councils and farmers kill them. It would make more sense to let farmers trap them, hold them in quarantine for a few months and then sell them overseas to licensed dealers. The Farmers would get some added and much needed income, birds wouldn't be killed, and smugglers wouldn't continue doing what they do, at least not with this species.

That is one different looking Galah. And what Rod says about trapping makes sence to me.
LML

It is a legitimate mutation, researchers have been following around the bird for quite a while now

It still doesn't look legit. Black around the eyes. Black on the beak, which is really unusual. And the pink feathers have a dirty black tinge to them. In addition to this, most birds don't turn black from mutations, they tend to go lighter.

Has it paired up with another bird yet?
Maybe the researchers could trap it and breed it in captivity.

Extract from the article - Credited to the ABC - The full Photograph shows the bird with its flockmates.

A rare sighting of a galah with a genetic mutation has been snapped by photographer Hoss Bolenski in Port Lincoln, South Australia.
Key points:

A rare black galah was snapped by a photographer in Port Lincoln
Genetic mutations called melanism, causes the bird's feathers to be black
Melanism may serve as a survival advantage for the black galah

The galah, which is usually grey and pink in colour, was seen at North Point Reserve covered in black feathers with a tinge of pink on its underbelly.

Bird Life Australia coordinator and science writer, Tanya Loos, said the unique colouring is due to a mutation called melanism, which causes an increased development of a dark-coloured pigment.

LML

Doesn't look right to me either.Very suspect on this one.