The term galah is derived from gilaa, a word from the Yuwaalaraay and neighbouring Aboriginal languages spoken in north-western New South Wales.

It is common in metropolitan areas such as Adelaide, Perth, and Melbourne, and abundant in open habitats that offer at least some scattered trees for shelter.

[9] The changes brought by European settlement, which have been disastrous for many species, have been highly beneficial for the galah, because of the clearing of forests in fertile areas and the provision of stock-watering points in arid zones.

Early DNA studies allied the galah with the cockatiel or placed it close to some Cacatua species of completely different appearance.

Ignorance of this fact, however, led to attempts to resolve the evolutionary history and prehistoric biogeography of the cockatoos, which ultimately proved fruitless because they were based on invalid assumptionssuch as what?

[citation needed] It fell to the study of Brown & Toft (1999) to compare the previously available data with their mitochondrial 12S rRNA sequence to resolve the issue.

The significance of these two (and other) characteristics shared by the Cacatuinae had previously been explained away in earlier studies by strict application of parsimony on misinterpreted data.

The south-eastern form, E. r. albiceps, is clearly distinct from the paler-bodied Western Australian nominate subspecies, E. r. roseicapilla, although the extent and nature of the central hybrid zone remains undefined.

The third form, E. r. kuhli, found right across the northern part of the continent, tends to be a little smaller and is distinguished by differences in the shape and colour of the crest, although its status as a valid subspecies is uncertain.

In their natural habitat, galahs are unlikely to reach the age of 20 years, falling victim to traffic, predators such as the little eagle and black and peregrine falcons, and human activities in some agricultural areas.

They are generally absent from Australian aviaries,[15] although permits are available in South Australia to take a limited number of galahs from the wild per year for avicultural purposes.

Like most parrots, the galah requires plenty of exercise and play time out of its cage as well as several hours of daily social interaction with humans or other birds in order to thrive in captivity.

Galah meat recipes were published in Australian newspapers in the 1930s, alongside jokes about the alleged toughness and unpalatable nature of the bird's flesh.

A detailed description of the Australian slang term can be found in the standup comedy performance of Paul Hogan, titled Stand Up Hoges.