page_title: Red-tailed black cockatoo
section_title: Cultural depictions
hierarchical_section_title: Red-tailed black cockatoo / Cultural depictions
caption_attribution_description: English: Pen and Ink and Watercolor; 28 x 21 cm.
context_page_description: The red-tailed black cockatoo also known as Banksian- or Banks' black cockatoo, is a large black cockatoo native to Australia. Adult males have a characteristic pair of bright red panels on the tail that gives the species its name. It is more common in the drier parts of the continent. Five subspecies are recognised, differing chiefly in beak size. Although the more northerly subspecies are widespread, the two southern subspecies, the forest red-tailed black cockatoo and the south-eastern red-tailed black cockatoo are under threat.
  The species is usually found in eucalyptus woodlands, or along water courses. In the more northerly parts of the country, these cockatoos are commonly seen in large flocks. They are seed eaters and cavity nesters, and as such depend on trees with fairly large diameters, generally Eucalyptus. Populations in southeastern Australia are threatened by deforestation and other habitat alterations. Of the black cockatoos, the red-tailed is the most adaptable to aviculture, although black cockatoos are much rarer and much more expensive in aviculture outside Australia.
context_section_description: A red-tailed black cockatoo, named Karak, was the official mascot of the 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne. Promotion coincided with an implementation of initiatives to ensure the survival of the South-eastern subspecies graptogyne, as well as increased environmental awareness at the games.
  A traditional story from western Arnhem Land tells of Black Cockatoo and her husband Crow, who are Bird-people, sprouting black feathers after becoming afflicted with a sickness from across the sea to the north. In fear of being buried underground, they transform into birds and fly high in the sky.
  In the folklore of the Tiwi people, the red-tailed black cockatoo is said to accompany the dead to heaven.
caption: Banksian Cockatoo by Thomas Watling, the first professional European artist to paint in New South Wales
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