slparker wrote:Interesting read. I have always wondered why some species never crossed into Tasmania. Late arrivals, like the Dingo, I can understand but I don't recall ever seeing a galah when I grew up in Tassy yet they are prolific on the mainland.
What conditions prevented the galah from crossing into tassy but not the black cockatoo?
i do understand that when Tasmania was a peninsula the conditions were cold and dry and the Bassian Plain was essentially desert terrain - perhaps that deterred many species from crossing.
There are galahs here now. Regular visitors to my yard, especially in summer. My old field guide shows them being restricted to the mainland - and, like you, I am certain I never saw them whilst growing up down here - so presumably they are fairly recent arrivals. Possibly cage escapees?