The sulphur crested cockatoo is one of Australia's best known birds.  Its reputation worldwide a good natured pet contrasts with its wary nature in the wild. The sulphur crested cockatoo is noisy and conspicuous. With its white plumage and yellow crest gleaming in the sun, it provides on of the most spectacular sights to be seen in Australia.

Characteristics: The sulphur crested cockatoo is familiar throughout many parts of Australia.  It lives in most types of open wooded country, preferring trees along rivers and other waterways. It is also become widespread on farmland and in urban parks and gardens.  In the southern part of it range, the sulphur crested cockatoo gathers in large flocks, except during the breeding season.  Some flocks contain hundreds of birds, which cover the ground like a blanket of snow. In northern Australia, the birds remain in pairs or small groups throughout the year.

Each group of sulphur crested cockatoos has a favorite roosting site, usually in a dead tree that isolated in open country or towers above others in a forest.  Cockatoos usually spend mornings searching the ground for seeds and other food.  Toward noon the birds seek the shade of surrounding trees, where they amuse themselves by stripping off bark and leaves..  In the cool of the afternoon they return to the ground to feed, and at dusk they fly home to roost.  A flock of cockatoos will return to the same feeding grounds every day until the food supply is exhausted.
 

Breeding: Sulphur crested cockatoos have brief, simple courtship's. The male struts along a branch toward his prospective mate with his crested raised, bobbing his head while uttering soft, chattering calls.  Before mating, the birds gently preen each others plumage.  The sulphur crested  cockatoo makes it nest in a hole or hollow branch of a tree, or in a high and inaccessible part of a riverside cliff.  The female lays two eggs (rarely three) eggs on a pile of wood dust at the bottom of the hole.  Both parents brood the eggs, remaining very quiet to avoid attracting the attention of predators.

Food & Feeding: The sulphur crested cockatoo feeds on a wide variety of seeds, a well as nuts, berries, fruits, flowers, corn, and some insects and their larvae.  In grain growing areas, they aggravate farmers by devouring newly sown seed and young crops.  The damage they do may be exaggerated, and they are helpful to farmers in that they eat weed seeds and pests, including the eggs of the plague locust.

Cockatoo & Man: The sulphur crested cockatoo is one of the most popular of all pets and has been kept as pa pet by man since the 19th century.  Many are superb mimics of human speech. Still the sulphur crested cockatoo can produce harsh. ear splitting screeches early in the morning or when alarmed.

The best type of bird to be kept as a pet is one that has been bred in captivity, not removed from the wild.  The pet bird trade (together with destruction of habitats) poses the biggest threat to wild cockatoos. The sulphur crested cockatoo is protected in nearly all Australian states, although permits to shoot them ae issued to farmers in crop groaning areas.  The cockatoo has become a familiar sight in some urban areas.

Key Facts: Sizes, Weight, breeding, lifestyle, related Species

Length: 18 - 20 in
Weight: 3 - 31/2 oz

Breeding:
Gestation: 170 days
No of broods: 1
Eggs: 2, occasionally 3, white oval
Incubation: 30 days

Lifestyle:
Voice: A variety of very loud, raucous screeches.
Habit: Active by day, in pairs or small groups
Diet: Seeds, roots, bulbs, nuts, also some insects and their larvae.
Life span: In captivity, 50 years but has been recorded longer in zoos.

Related Species: There are 17 other species of cockatoo, including the lesser sulphur crested cockatoos and the blue eyed cockatoo.
Distribution: The sulphur crested cockatoo is found in most types of open, forested country throughout northern, eastern, and south eastern Australia, and some offshore island.
Conservation: The sulphur crested cockatoo is widespread and common throughout most of its range. It is a protective species in most Australian states.

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo' Sentinel Warning System:

In southern Australia, where sulphur crested cockatoos live in large flocks, the bird has evolved a warning system to avoid being caught by predators.  As the main flock feeds, a sentinel bird perched in the trees warns of impending danger with a loud screech.  Flocks of birds gather to feed on seeds, nuts, and berries.

Did you know:
The oldest captive bird in the world was Cocky, a sulphur crested cockatoo who died in the London Zoo at the age of 82.
A cockatoo uses it distinctive crested to show fear, aggression, and sexual arousal.
The largest cockatoo is the palm (or great black) cockatoo. It also has the largest beak.
Both the Latin and common names Cacatua and cockatoo come from the Malayan word Kakatoe, in imitation of the birds calls.
The sulphur crested cockatoo is sometimes called the white cockatoo.
The only difference between a male and a female is the color of the birds eyes.

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