The Australian cockatoo: who is it? How to breed this bird at home?

 The yellow-crested cockatoo is a large parrot with predominantly white plumage. In adults of the nominal breed, the ear covers, bases of the throat, and cheek feathers are infiltrated with pale yellow. As the name suggests, the crest, formed by 6 erectile feathers slightly oriented forward, is yellow. The underside of the wings and tail are tinged with pale yellow. The ring that surrounds the eye displays a white color. The iris is dark brown in males and reddish brown in females. The bill is blackish-gray, the legs gray. Juveniles are not much different from adults. In some young birds, a few sp The Australian cockatoo: who is it? How to breed this bird at home? arse feathers are infiltrated with pale gray. The irises are pale brown.

The five subspecies are poorly differentiated: C.g. Galerita is the only one that has pale yellow on the ear covers and at the base of the cheek and throat feathers. C.g. queenslandica, has a smaller size, with a wider and very streaked bill. C.g. Fitzroy is distinguished mainly by the width of its beak and pale blue eye circle. C.g. triton has wider crest feathers and a blue eye circle. C.g. Eleonora resembles the previous one but has a smaller bill.

The yellow-crested cockatoo can be confused with the Sulfur cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea). However, the latter is smaller (33 cm) and occupies a totally different distribution area.

Singing voices and screams

The yellow-crested cockatoo emits a hoarse 'ah-yai-yah' or 'kai-yah' whose end ends with an upward or downward inflection. This call is made regularly in flight and sometimes when the bird is perched on a well-exposed branch. The alarm call is a series of abrupt and guttural notes. When it feeds or smooths its feathers, this cockatoo accompanies its activity with hoarse braying or a shrill and dissyllabic whistle.

Habitat

In New Guinea, the yellow-crested cockatoo frequents forests, partially thinned areas, shrub savannahs, and mangroves along the coast.


In Australia, it prefers galleries of trees along rivers, especially in the driest regions. On this continent, it is also found in many types of forests or wooded areas, such as temperate or tropical rainforests, grasslands with sparse trees, agricultural land, and hardwood or softwood plantations. It rarely settles inside dense forests, choosing edges and clearings in priority. The yellow-crested cockatoo has become firmly established in urban areas where its numbers are increasing rapidly.

Behavior character traits

Yellow-crested cockatoos are noisy parrots and fairly easy to observe, although they are more noticeable by their calls. During the breeding season, they live in pairs or small family groups, but the rest of the year they are found in large flocks that can hold several hundred birds. In urban areas, and especially in places with feeders, they adopt a familiar behavior. In other places, they retain their usual distrust and caution and are very difficult to approach.


In open areas, especially in South Australia, these birds set up a system of sentinels that is organized as follows: while the bulk of the flock feeds, some birds stand apart on a nearby perch and are likely to sound the alarm if danger arises.


Yellow-crested cockatoos have a strong tendency to use common roosts, even when they are far from feeding grounds. They flock there in large numbers and they often occupy the site for a long time. In Australia, there is one known roost that has been occupied by more than 500 birds for 17 consecutive years. At dawn, yellow-crested cockatoos leave their perch to quench their thirst in a nearby spring. In the morning and late afternoon, they spend their time feeding. In the middle of the day, at the hottest moments, they take shelter in the surrounding trees, damaging the foliage and bark to such an extent that they often cause destruction. In the evening, the yellow-crested cockatoos return to their dormitories. Birds in New Guinea and northern Australia are mostly arboreal, while those in the south mainly forage on land.

Yellow-crested cockatoos often provide collective defense, allowing them to successfully counter attacks by kites and bats (Macheiramphus alcinus). During the displays, the males bow and swing their heads forming a figure in the shape of '8'. They produce a weak chatter and bristle their crest. Mutual smoothing of feathers and touching of the beak are also very common rituals.

Fly

The yellow-crested cockatoo has a very characteristic flight composed of alternating fast beats lacking amplitude and slips. This bird often flies at very high altitudes. It slides in wide swirling circles to land on the ground.

Food mode and diet

Yellow-crested cockatoos are mainly vegetarians and they can cause great damage to crops.

They dig in the land that has recently been sown, swallow ripening cobs, and also cause damage to crops that are stored and to bales of hay from which they tear the plastic. They feed on a wide variety of seeds, fruits, and buds that they find both on land and in trees. Yellow-crested cockatoos also consume roots, rhizomes, walnuts, berries including hawthorns, flowers, and insect bulbs and larvae. They hold these foods with their paw and attack them with their powerful beaks. Birds of the nominal breed restore themselves in large flocks that can sometimes number several hundred individuals, while those of other breeds rarely exceed twenty.

Nesting reproduction

In Australia, the breeding season occurs between May and August in the north and between August and January in the south.

In New Guinea, it takes place during all months of the year, although the most active months are during the period from May to December. This species occasionally nests in colonies. The nest is a natural tree cavity placed between 3 and 30 meters above the ground in a large eucalyptus tree near a stream. Yellow-crested cockatoos also sometimes lay eggs in limestone cliff holes along the Murray River. In this case, the eggs are laid directly on the sand. In New Zealand, these birds lay eggs among bales of hay in barns. The nest usually contains 3 white eggs. These are deposited on a layer of decomposing debris that lines the bottom of the cavity. Both parents take turns brooding for a period of about 30 days. The chicks have a yellowish down and take flight after 6 to 9 weeks. They return to the nest fairly regularly to rest for another 2 weeks. The young people stay in the family group for several months. They forage together in small, scattered groups.

Distribution

It is endemic to northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, particularly the Arus Islands in Indonesia. It has been successfully imported to the Palau Islands in Micronesia, New Zealand, and some islands in the eastern Moluccas. The yellow-crested cockatoo lives mainly below 1000 meters of altitude, but it can sometimes be observed up to 1500 m in Australia and more than 2000 m in eastern New Guinea. Five subspecies are officially recognized: C.g. Galerita (eastern and southeastern Australia, from northern Queensland to Tasmania and southeastern South Australia, including Kangaroo Island) - C.g. Queensland (Cape York Peninsula and Torres Strait Islands) - C.g. Fitzroy (northern Australia, Kimberley district to Carpentaria Gulf) - C.g. triton (islands of West Papua, New Guinea) - C.g. Eleonora (Arus Islands).

How to raise the cockatoo at home?

A well-equipped and clean cage

The cockatoo needs a large cage to spread its wings and fly without risk of injury. Prefer an aviary at least 70 cm wide and 60 cm deep, and even much larger ideally. Opt for stainless steel bars, which can withstand its powerful spout. On the other hand, avoid any element containing zinc or lead, as these materials are toxic to the bird.

To move it more easily and facilitate its maintenance, you can choose a cage on wheels.

 Make toys available to your bird, because it appreciates them. On the other hand, remember to renew them regularly to prevent him from getting bored and tired of them. The cockatoo especially likes acrylic beads, which are strong and large enough not to be swallowed.

 Decorate the cage with perches by varying the formats to prevent the bird from developing osteoarthritis of the legs. The cockatoo prefers real branches of variable diameters and is very strong, able to support its weight and help it find its balance. Your pet will appreciate landing safely and will preferably stand in the place that seems most appropriate. In addition, he will be able to rub his beak without risk of injury. Place them at variable heights, but not on top of the water and food bowls to prevent droppings from falling into them, causing the development of bacteria. On the other hand, make sure that they do not interfere with your bird when it flies.

Avoid placing the cage in a draught area, as your bird will quickly get sick. Also, avoid places of high heat. Place the aviary in a living room like the living room so that your cockatoo does not get bored and takes part in family life. Keep his cage clean by washing his bowls every day and cleaning the droppings that have fallen into the bottom of the bin. Arrange a bed of newspapers for easy maintenance.

 

A balanced diet rich in vitamins

The cockatoo needs well-balanced and quality food. There are pellets adapted to these species; Very well dosed, they can represent nearly 70% of their diet.

 Seeds are not essential, as they tend to make them fat. Reserve them as treats.

 You can give your pet fresh fruits and vegetables, to be renewed as soon as they lose their freshness if they are not consumed immediately. These are indeed rich in vitamins and minerals and are a good nutritional intake. Cockatoos especially appreciate well-cooked beans, apples, pears, cabbage greens, and spinach. Remember to wash them well before giving them to your bird and prefer them organic.

 On the other hand, never give avocado, mushrooms, tomato leaves, raw beans, onion, chocolate, and caffeine to your cockatoo, as they are toxic to him. Also avoid sweets and cereal bars that are too rich, as they promote obesity and can be dangerous. In general, any food that has not been consumed within 4 hours should be removed from the cage to prevent the development and proliferation of bacteria.  

Threats & Protection

The yellow-crested cockatoo is a common bird. Its numbers, estimated at more than 500,000 individuals, are considered stable or slightly increasing. Despite its status as a protected bird in most of its range, it is not immune to certain threats. In areas with high agricultural activity, such as Perth or South Australia, this species does not benefit from protection when it enters cultivated areas. It is likely to be eliminated if it causes damage to crops. In New Guinea, it is sometimes hunted for its feathers. Throughout the Australian continent, it is a very popular pet bird. Luckily, it turns out to be very difficult to capture.

References used

Parrots of the World, Joseph M. Forshaw

Vol. 4 - Handbook of the Birds of the World, Josep del Hoyo-Andrew Elliott-Jordi Sargatal

Avibase, Lepage Denis

Wikipédia, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

THE AVIANWEB, Sibylle Faye

IOC World Bird List (v12.2), Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2022.

Other useful references

Birdlife

Avibase

IUCN Red List