These vocalizations include a variety of cries, whistles, grunts, and screeches. They will also stomp noisily on a perch and use a stick or nut to drum loudly on a hollow log. The Palm Cockatoo is the only cockatoo species adapted to tropical rain forest habitat. The other members of the cockatoo family prefer drier habitats. Palm Cockatoos require large trees for nesting and roosting.
Daytime roosts are usually near their current food source and a water source.
At night they prefer to roost in or near their nest tree. Palm Cockatoos have been observed feeding on seeds, nuts, fruits, berries, and leaf buds. They feed primarily in trees, but also feed on fallen seeds and fruits on the ground. On the Cape York Peninsula, they have been observed eating the seeds of the kanari and black bean trees, and the fruits of the nonda tree and Pandanus palms. Palm Cockatoos have also been observed eating seeds that have passed through cassowaries, which may make them easier to open.