Diet

Their natural food is varied, but much of the diet comprises seeds of native trees, particularly she-oak (Casuarina) but also Eucalyptus, Acacia, Banksia and Hakea. They are also partial to pine cones in plantations of the introduced Pinus radiata. They are very fond of the larvae of tree-boring beetles and moths, and strip the bark from the trees and tear away at the wood to find them.