Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo

## Description

The sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita ) is a relatively large white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia, New Guinea, and some of the islands of Indonesia. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being considered pests. A highly intelligent bird, they are well known in aviculture, although they can be demanding pets.

## Appearance

The Sulfur-crested cockatoo is a large and white parrot with a distinctive yellow crest on top of its head which it can raise or leave folded down. Its beak is dark grey-black. The underside of the wings and tail is a paler yellow. Females and males look the same but females have red tinted brown eyes, while the eyes of males are darker brown.

## Distribution

The Sulfur-crested cockatoo is found in large numbers in the east and north of Australia and most of New Guinea with nearby smaller islands. It also lives in Western Australia, Singapore, Palau, Taiwan, Puerto Rico, and New Zealand as an introduced species. They live in areas with trees, such as tropical and subtropical rainforests. The vast savannas in northern Australia are also their home. They can be found in suburban areas, particularly in parks and gardens.

## Behavior

These cockatoos are diurnal gregarious birds, and flocks from a dozen up to several hundred will form. At sunrise they fly from the roosting grounds to feeding grounds, flying back to roost at dusk. They feed in groups, while one individual watches for danger from a nearby perch. They shelter in trees during the hottest times of the day. Their flight pattern is typically a series of quick, shallow wing beats with gliding in between. They fly to and from feeding grounds at a considerable height, to swoop down in wide, sweeping circles. They are noisy birds and screeching is their main method of communication. They raise and spread their striking crests when danger threatens or during mating.

## Diet

Sulfur-crested cockatoos are mainly herbivores (granivores, frugivores) and will feed on the ground as well as in trees. They eat mainly seeds, nuts, blossoms, fruits, insects, and insect larvae. Newly planted and ripening grains are another source.

## Reproduction

These birds are monogamous, forming bonds that last a long time. In the north, they breed from May until September, whereas in the south the season is from August to January. The usual nest is high in a tree hollow, most often near water. They breed once a year, when 2 to 3 white eggs are laid, to be incubated by both parents, for 27 to 30 days. Both parents feed the chicks. At approximately 70 days the chicks are ready to leave the nest but will stay with the parents, and family units will stay together indefinitely. Reproductive maturity for both males and females is around 3 to 4 years of age.

## Population

### Population threats

Sulphur-crested cockatoos are very popular as a cage-bird, but many of them escape to become pests in city areas. They are vulnerable to a viral disease where they lose their feathers and their bills grow misshapen. They can be shot or poisoned because they are a pest for farmers.

### Population number

According to IUCN, the global population size has not been quantified. In some parts of Australia, they can be very abundant and may cause damage to cereal and fruit crops. Consequently, they can be shot or poisoned as pests. The introduced population in New Zealand may number fewer than 1000 birds. In Singapore, it is believed there are between 500 and 2000 birds. The population in Taiwan has been estimated at less than 100 breeding pairs. The ICUN lists the Sulphur-crested cockatoo as a "Least Concern, with a decreasing population trend due to ongoing habitat destruction.

## Domestication

Sulphur-crested cockatoos may no longer be imported into the United States as a result of the Wild Bird Conservation Act (WBCA). However, they have been bred in captivity, with Eleonora and Triton cockatoos the most common subspecies seen in aviculture in the USA and Europe. They are socially demanding pets and have a natural desire to chew wood and other hard and organic materials. They are also loud, often unleashing loud squawks or piercing screeches. They may also make aggressive, unpredictable movements which can frighten people and animals unaware of the accompanying affection.

One cockatoo called Fred was still alive at 100 years of age in 2014. Cocky Bennett of Tom Ugly's Point in Sydney was a celebrated sulphur-crested cockatoo who reached an age of 100 years or more. He had lost his feathers and was naked for much of his life, and died in the early years of the twentieth century. His body was stuffed and preserved after death. Another 'cocky', born in 1921 and residing in Arncliffe with his owner Charlie Knighton, was 76 years old in the late 1990s.

Sulphur-crested cockatoos, along with many other parrots, are susceptible to psittacine beak and feather disease, a viral disease, which causes birds to lose their feathers and grow grotesquely shaped beaks. The disease occurs naturally in the wild, and in captivity.

## Fun Facts for Kids

The largest bird in this group of birds is the Greater Sulfur-crested cockatoo.

Cockatoos mimic other animals, including people.

Cockatoos will hold a piece of food in one foot so they can use the other foot to break pieces off it.

These birds make a very shrill cry.

They tend to get sick if they are ignored, bored, or stressed, and will harm themselves by pulling out their own feathers.

## References

https://animalia.bio/sulphur-crested-cockatoo