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Start with the overall colour pattern: a Galah is pink and grey, a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo is white with a yellow crest and dark bill, and a corella is mostly white with a pale bill and bare blue skin around the eye. To distinguish the two corellas, look closely at bill shape and red facial and breast markings—not location alone.
Identify the bird by its strongest field marks
- Look for pink and grey. A Galah has a rose-pink head, neck and underparts, contrasting with a grey back, wings and undertail. Its pattern is usually the quickest way to separate it from the mostly white cockatoos. BirdLife Australia lists Galahs at 30–45 cm and describes their call as a high-pitched “chi-chi.” BirdLife Australia’s Galah profile.
- Among white birds, check the crest and bill. A Sulphur-crested Cockatoo has a white body, a sulphur-yellow crest and a dark grey-black bill. Yellow beneath the wings is another useful mark. The bill remains a clue when the bird lowers its crest. BirdLife Australia gives this species’ length as 45–60 cm and describes its call as a loud, harsh screech. BirdLife Australia’s Sulphur-crested Cockatoo profile.
- Check for a pale bill and blue eye skin. Corellas are also mostly white, but have pale horn-coloured bills and a large area of bare blue skin around the eye. They have a pale yellow wash beneath the wings and tail. These shared marks help separate corellas from a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, but you need bill shape and facial markings to identify which corella you are seeing.
Compare the four species at a glance
| Bird | Most useful marks | Size and call |
|---|---|---|
| Sulphur-crested Cockatoo | White body, sulphur-yellow crest, dark grey-black bill and yellow underwing wash. | 45–60 cm, according to BirdLife Australia. Loud, harsh screech. |
| Little Corella | Pale horn-coloured bill, bare blue skin around the eye, short, broad, rounded upper bill and less conspicuous pink lores. Pale yellow wash beneath wings and tail. | About 37 cm in Jarman’s December 1979 account; contact call similar to Long-billed Corella. |
| Long-billed Corella, eastern form | Pale bill and blue eye skin; red lores and forehead, a red upper-breast bar, and a long, narrow upper bill that projects beyond the lower bill. | About 40 cm in Jarman’s December 1979 account; contact call similar to Little Corella. |
| Galah | Rose-pink head, neck and underparts; grey back, wings and undertail. | 30–45 cm, according to BirdLife Australia. High-pitched “chi-chi” call. |
The corella measurements are approximate figures from a 1979 article, which cautions that the size difference is hard to see in the field. Use shape and colour pattern ahead of size.
Tell a Little Corella from a Long-billed Corella
Look at the bill in profile
The eastern form of the Long-billed Corella has a long, straight, narrow upper bill that visibly extends beyond the lower mandible. A Little Corella’s upper bill is shorter, broader and rounder, with little overlap beyond the lower bill. That shorter bill gives the Little Corella a rounder-looking face. When possible, watch the bird from the side rather than relying on a head-on view.
Check the face and upper breast
The eastern Long-billed Corella has red markings on the lores—the area between the eye and bill—and forehead, giving the face a masked appearance. A red bar crosses its upper breast. Little Corellas have pink lores too, but the colour is less conspicuous; they lack the Long-billed Corella’s distinctive red upper-breast bar.
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Both species share a pale bill, bare blue skin around the eye, and pale yellow beneath the wings and tail. The 1979 description also notes pink colouring beneath the head and neck feathers. These shared features confirm that a bird may be a corella, but do not distinguish the two species by themselves.
Use calls, flight and flock context as supporting clues
Corella contact calls are described as high-pitched yelps or chuckles. The two corella species’ contact calls are very similar, so sound alone is not a reliable way to tell them apart. In a mixed flock, corella calls may be heard above the harsher calls of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos.
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Corellas have narrower wings and, in Jarman’s 1979 account, beat them faster than the broader-winged Sulphur-crested Cockatoo. BirdLife Australia describes Sulphur-crested Cockatoos as gregarious birds that forage and roost in flocks, and Galahs as forming large, noisy flocks. These details can help you focus your observation, but behaviour and flock setting are not diagnostic.
Do not identify corellas by location alone
Range can provide context, but it is not a substitute for examining the bird. Jarman’s December 1979 account warned that corella ranges were expanding and overlapping in south-eastern Australia. A 2020 study also documented introduced Little and Long-billed Corellas in south-western Western Australia.
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That study tagged 62 birds—44 Little Corellas and 18 Long-billed Corellas—at five sites in south-western WA and recorded 390 sightings over seven years. The maximum recorded distances from tagging sites were 145 km for Little Corellas and 77 km for Long-billed Corellas. These are observations from that local study, not general measures of either species’ full range or typical movements.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A quick field checklist
- Pink head and underparts with a grey back and wings: look for a Galah.
- White body, yellow crest and dark bill: look for a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo.
- Mostly white body, pale bill and bare blue eye skin: look for a corella.
- On a corella, long protruding bill plus red lores, forehead and upper-breast bar: eastern Long-billed Corella.
- On a corella, short rounded bill and subtler pink lores: Little Corella.
- Use size, calls, flight and location only as secondary clues.
BirdLife Australia uses the scientific names Cacatua galerita for Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and Eolophus roseicapilla for Galah. HANZAB lists Little Corella as Cacatua sanguinea and Long-billed Corella as Cacatua tenuirostris; its taxonomy page identifies the checklist versions informing its treatment. HANZAB taxonomy.
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