When you see birds with the colour of the Mulga Parrot shown above, you can't help but enjoy the outdoors. Ross Highway, in particular the part between Emily and Jessie Gaps, was an explosion of noise and colour.
I'd stopped because I thought I had seen a Crimson Chat, but wasn't sure. Next I see some movement in the trees on the near side of the road and 3 Mulga Parrots were having a game of hide and seek. The female is a fair bit duller than the male but still quite spectacular in its own right:
but the male is certainly the eye-catcher with colour:
They are comparatively quiet parrots, compared to some of their cousins, and silent compared to the Red-tailed Black Cockatoos that flew almost right over the top of me in a large group. I was a little concerned for their welfare at a couple of points. My first sighting of them included a Brown Falcon soaring a little above them and then a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles decided they would prefer to be a part of the larger flock. I didn't see either of them actually try to take any of the cockatoos, which was a relief:
Brown Falcon in the sky:
Wedgies in the sky (uppermost bird and bottom right bird) in amongst the Red-tailed Black Cockatoos
Some of the photos of the Red-tailed Black Cockatoos:
And Budgerigars are out in force at the moment, small flocks buzzing around chattering everywhere. These were in one of the trees where I had stopped:
Whispering sweet nothings?
