PARROTS
Cockatoo | Macaws | Others

COCKATOO

Bird: Galah or Rose-breasted Cockatoo
(Eolophus roseicapillus)

Range:
Australia, chiefly the interior and excluding wetter coastal areas. Ranges to King Island and Tasmania; although accidental in Tasmania. Found in open country areas with scattered trees and riverine woodlands

Size:
Small dove sized parrot.

Length: 35 cm
Wingspan: Male 26 - 28 cm ; Female 25 - 28 cm (~ 1 ft.)
Tail: Male 14 - 16 cm ; Female 14 - 17 cm
Weight: 300 - 370 g

Diet:
Seeds, grain, roots, green shoots, leaf buds, and insects and their larvae.

Description:
Adult's forehead, crown, and occiput are white with a pink suffusion through the bases of the feathers. The upper parts are grey, very pale on the rump and secondary wing coverts. The face, neck, and most of the underparts, including the underwing coverts, are rose-pink. The lower abdomen and vent are pale grey, the tail is dark grey, and the naked periophthalmic ring is dark greyish red. The bill is horn colored, the iris is dark brown in males and pinkish red in females, and the legs are grey.

Natural History:
They are usually seen in small flocks, but large flocks of up to 1000 are common. They occasionally associate with other cockatoos and, when feeding with Sulphur Crested Cockatoos, respond to that bird's sentinel warning systems. They spend many hours in the morning and late afternoon feeding on the ground. During the heat of the day, they find shelter in a tree or bush, idley stripping leaves and bark. Galahs are abundant in most types of open country habitat below 1250 m. They have benefited from land clearance and the cultivation of cereal crops, and now are becoming plentiful in coastal and mountainous areas. They are common in many urban districts, even nesting in trees in gardens and parklands. Nests are usually made in a hollow in a eucalypt 2 - 20 m above the ground, but may also be on cliff ledges. Both parents build the nest and 2 - 6 white eggs are laid. Both parents incubate for approximately 25 days and young fledge in 7 - 8 weeks. Galahs pair for life and may live for over 40 years.

Personal History:
Julio - A long term show bird with a dollar bill routine. He was bred in captivity and hand raised at the Honolulu Zoo in 1994.
Ben, Jerry, and Phish - All hatched in captivity and hand raised by a private breeder in 1997.
Foster - Hatched in captivity and obtained by NEI in 1996 at under a year old.
Silly Putty - Hatched in captivity and obtained by NEI in 1998 at under a year old.

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Bird: Goffin's Cockatoo
(Cacatua goffini)

Range:
Tanimbar Islands, Indonesia; possibly introduced to Tual in the Kai Islands. Found in forests and forest edges and cultivated areas.

Size:
Small dove sized parrot.

Length: 32 cm
Wingspan: Male 26 - 28 cm ; Female 25 - 28 cm (~ 1 ft.)
Tail: Male 14 - 16 cm ; Female 14 - 17 cm
Weight: 300 - 370 g

Diet:
Sunflower, safflower, oats, wheat, buckwheat and paddy rice; boiled maize; various fruit and vegetables; fresh branches with flowers and buds; regular mineral and vitamin supplements, especially vitamin C; sprouted wheat, sunflower, safflower and pigeon food during warm summer months.

Description:
White; lores pink; ear-coverts with pale yellow tinge; head feathers pale pink at base, but not visible; underside of wing and tail feathers light yellow; crest broad and round; skin to periophthalmic ring white; iris black; feet grey; bill grey-whitish.

Female as male, but with reddish-brown iris.

Immatures as adult, but iris dark; female attains adult colour to iris at 2 to 3 years.

Natural History:

Personal History:
Gilmore


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Bird: Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
(Cacatua sulphurea)

Range:
Six subspecies can be found on the islands of Corubus and adjacent Buron Island. Also found on the Sunda Islands, islands in the Flores and Java Seas, and in Indonesia. Introduced in Singapore. Found in forest edge, woodland, farmland, and coconut palm habitats.

Size:
Length: 38 - 51 cm
Wingspan: 22 - 27 cm
Weight: 300 - 400 g

Diet:
Seeds, nuts, berries, and fruits.

Description:
A medium sized white cockatoo with a huge, striking, forward curving yellow erectile crest and yellow suffusion on the underside of the wings and at the base of the tail. The feathers of the forecrown and above the eye are white and the folded crest shows only as an upward curving yellow protrusion from the nape. The bases of the feathers around the cheeks and throat are also yellowish. The eye ring is pale blue to white, there is a slight yellowish suffusion on the ear coverts, and the bill is blackish grey. The iris is dark brown to black in males and dark red in females, and the legs are dark grey.

Natural History:
These birds are chiefly sedentary, but local movements have been recorded. They are seen in pairs or small flocks and they are found mainly in tree tops, but will come to the ground. Flocks use a sentinel warning system in which one or more frequently changed lookouts raises the alarm with screeches if danger arises. During the alarm call, the crest is raised and other species feeding in the area also respond. They are most active just after dawn and nest in natural tree hollows 3 - 30 m above the ground. These natural hollows may be in tall eucalypts, cavities in limestone cliffs, or hay bales in a barn depending on the region. They may nest communally. Usually, 3 white eggs are laid on decayed debris at the bottom of the nesting hollow. Both parents incubate for about 30 days and young fledge in approximately 6 - 9 weeks. Young often return to roost in the nest hollow for an additional 2 weeks after fledging.

Personal History:
Pogo - Has been performing in shows since 1986, carrying his strong environmental message. He has become a crowd favorite at shows all over the country. He was obtained by NEI in 1982 at 8 years old.

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Bird: Palm Cockatoo
(Probosciger aterrimus)
Other names include Cape York Cockatoo, Great Palm Cockatoo, Black Macaw, Great Black Cockatoo, and Goliath Cockatoo.

Range:
Found in the lowlands of New Guinea, some related islands, and in the northern Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia. Occurs in the Aru Islands, the western Papuan Islands, and on the islands in Geelvink Bay. Previously introduced to Kai Kecil and still present in 1981, but now possibly extinct there. In New Guinea, the species ranges through lowlands to 1300 m, but is commonest below 750 m. On the Cape York Peninsula, it ranges south to the Archer River in the west and to Princess Charlotte Bay in the east. In New Guinea, the species is found in rainforest, gallery forest, forest edge, monsoon woodland, tall secondary growth, partly cleared areas, and locally in dense savanna. In Australia, they are found in forest, dense savanna woodland, and eucalyptus and paperbark woodland adjacent to rainforest.

Size:
Length: 51 - 64 cm
Wingspan: 70 - 100 cm
Weight: 500-1200g

Diet:
Feed on large hard seeds of forest trees, palm nuts, leaf buds, fruits, and berries. Nuts are cut in half with the massive sharp-edged bill, and debris often falls from feeding trees. They are primarily arboreal feeders, but commonly feed on fallen nuts, seeds, and fruits on the ground.

Description:
This bird is a huge-billed all black cockatoo with a large crest and red facial skin. The adult's general plumage is grayish-black. The forehead and lores are black, the naked cheek patches are crimson, and the bare thighs are bluish-grey. When alarmed, the color of the cheek patch can darken to a deep red. The exposed gape is red, the tongue is red with a black tip, the bill is grey-black, the iris is dark brown, the periophthalmic ring is grey, and the legs are grey. The head has an erectile crest of elongate, up to 15 cm, feathers. The mandible and maxillary do not fit when closed, leaving the bi-colored tongue showing. The upper mandible is appreciably smaller in the female than in the male. Also, the bare patch of facial skin is smaller in the female. In immature birds, the feathers of the underwing coverts and underparts are edged with pale yellow. In very young birds under 18 months old, the bill tip and eye ring are white.

Natural History:
Their large size, black coloration, and piercing call notes make this species very conspicuous. Singly, in pairs, or in small groups, they are usually seen perched atop tall trees or flying above the forest canopy. They roost singly in the topmost branches of tall trees, nearly always in the dead or leafless uppermost branches of deciduous trees growing at the edge of rainforest. They become active about an hour after sunrise and will commence calling to each other. Shortly, up to 6 or 7 individuals will congregate in a large tree in open woodland. The parties will leave the trees and feed in open woodland or along the edges of rainforest and will return to the individual roosting trees just before sunset. The frequently heard contact call is a disyllabic whistle; the first note is mellow and deep, while the second is shrill and high-pitched, being prolonged and terminating with an abrupt, upward inflection. When alarmed, a sharp, gutteral screech is heard. Other calls include a deep, monosyllabic whistle repeated 3 or 4 times and a mournful, drawn-out, wailing cry. The flight is slow, straight, and level, with several slow flaps followed by a short glide, and the large bill is held down against the breast. On short flights, birds will periodically glide on down curved wings. In courtship displays, the male and female face each other with erect crests, stamp and bow, and their facial skin turns a deep red. The male may strike a branch with a stick, seed, or stone, while calling with his wings spread, as a territorial display close to the nest site. Nests are made in a hollow limb or hole in a high tree, usually in the trunk of a dead tree. The bottom of the hollow is lined with a layer of splintered twigs which are carried into the nest as long pieces and then split and broken into short pieces. This feature is unique to this species of cockatoo. The stick layer is porous and may be several feet deep in some hollows, but only a few inches deep in others. It is thought that this layer is designed to prevent the eggs or chicks from being submerged during monsoonal rains. One broadly elliptical, dull white egg is layed on the layer. The female incubates for 30 - 35 days and chicks fledge at 100 - 110 days. After leaving the nest, the chick is fed by the parents for approximately 6 more weeks. This species is under pressure from habitat loss, trade, and reportedly hunting in the vicinity of human habitation in New Guinea; a common method being to fire arrows smeared with sticky resin at roosting birds. The Palm Cockatoo is listed in CITES Appendix I as near-threatened.

Personal History:

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