Through The Gray Clouds Of Dawning Poem by Francis Duggan

Through the gray clouds of dawning in the brightening morning sky
Familiar birds even sight unseen they call out as they fly
Large dark brown parrots known to many as yellow tail black cockatoo
Whilst some others do refer to them by the name of weerloo
By their voices or appearance birds one should not mistake
They fly above the rural town as dawn begins to break
With their strong beaks they shred the pine cones and crack hard hakea nuts for their seed
For their survival as a species such trees do serve their need
In a cavity on an old tree the female one to two eggs lay
Though only one survive to adulthood those who know of them say
They mostly live in small flocks not common or rare
Of their difference from other cockatoos one does become aware
In the distance in the gray clouds of dawning them i hear but cannot see
Birds familiar to many and familiar to me.