Nests are built in holes in trees or cliff sides. Clutch size is 2 to 3. Both parents incubate the eggs for 30 days. Young remain in the nest for 6 to 9 weeks. Life span is 80 years.
Flight is a series of rapid, shallow wing beats interspersed with gliding.
Feathers are cleaned and kept white by crushing down feathers to a powder and distributing it throughout the feathers. Beak is kept in trim by attacking wood. This is a very noisy bird. Its call can be heard for great distances. The crest is raised as a mating display, in aggression and as a bluff.