The long-billed corellas, spotted in Smythedale, would have been a danger to anyone attempting to capture and colour them, nature writer Roger Thomas said. 

The sub-species of white cockatoo are naturally a cream colour. 

“Corellas have very strong beaks, so they would not be easy to handle, and there would be a risk of serious injury to hands.”

Mr Thomas said dying wildlife was illegal, however the birds did not appear to be disturbed by the colour-change in footage shot by a Smythesdale local. 

“It must have been some sort of a prank that someone got up to on the weekend.

“Corellas are sometimes kept as pets, but these two are acting like wild birds, and it is unlikely that the birds' owners would dye them like this.”

Philippa Holm’s son spied the fuchsia-coloured birds.

“He said ‘mum what’s the name of pink birds?’ and I said ‘they’d be galahs’ and I turned around and said ‘they’re not galahs’,” she said.

Long-billed corellas are protected under the Wildlife Act 1975 and a person caught marking the birds without authorisation could be liable for penalties up to $15,167, a Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning spokesperson said. 

DELWP encourages anyone who is aware of illegal activity relating to wildlife to report it to the DELWP Customer Service Center on 136 186. 

The Courier, Ballarat