cockatoo

This post may contain affiliate links to our partners such as Chewy, Amazon, etc. These purchases help us further AZ Animals' mission of educating the world's species.

Cockatoos are intelligent and talkative birds with a head of brightly colored feathers.

Check out all of our expert product reviews.

Cockatoos are loyal, caring and playful, and their energetic and rowdy behavior reflects their rich emotional inner life.

These birds are quite friendly and sometimes make great companions for human pets.

In their native Asia-Pacific habitat, cockatoos are a household sight even in some cities and suburbs, but their rough and destructive playfulness doesn't always make them popular with locals.

6 Amazing Cockatoo Facts

• A cockatoo in Australia has reportedly lived to be 120 years old, making it the oldest bird ever! This cockatoo was named Cocky Bennett and had lost all his feathers when he died!
• Cockatoos are one of the most popular rare birds in the international pet trade. They are common in zoos and are sometimes kept as pets.
• A cockatoo named Harry has become an Instagram celebrity. Halley is a white (aka umbrella) cockatoo that lives in the Netherlands.
• Cockatoos have a sharp beak that sometimes acts as a third leg when climbing or grabbing objects.
• Cockatoos molt or replace their flight feathers at a very slow rate. It takes a species two full years to complete the molt process.
• Cockatoos clean themselves by grooming constantly. They create a powdery substance that they smear all over their bodies with their beaks to keep them clean.

evolution and origin

Research has shown that cockatoos and parrots diverged from each other about 40 million years ago, while the emergence of the 21 different cockatoo species we see today dates back to 10-20 million years ago, when vegetation across Australia.

Provide Health and Entertainment for Your Parrot

Check out all of our expert product reviews.

The Australasian region has been identified as the origin of psittaciformes. Furthermore, cockatiels are considered one of the original branches of the cockatoo family, and upon closer inspection, similarities between the two birds, such as their ability to raise and lower their crest feathers, become apparent.

Cockatoos display black or white plumage with red, pink, or yellow accents, while parrots display green plumage with similar embellishments; the vibrant color comes from an antibacterial pigment in their feathers called psittaxanthin.

scientific name

Cockatoos are a species of parrot in the Psittaceae family. The name comes from the Dutch word kaketoe, which is derived from the local Indonesian name kakaktua – 'kaka' meaning parrot.

Along with true parrots and New Zealand parrots, it is one of the few major families that make up the order of psittacis known as psittaci.

There are currently 21 living species of cockatoos in seven different genera. Few extinct cockatoos are known from the fossil record.

Different types

The following are the different types of cockatoos:

• Bodin's black cockatoo
• blue-eyed cockatoo
• carnaby black cockatoo
• cockatiel
• Ducorps Corella
• Gala Cockatoo
• just cockatoo
• glossy black cockatoo
• goffin's cockatoo
• Little Corella
• Major Mitchell's Cockatoo
• Moluccas Cockatoo
• palm cockatoo
• Red-tailed Cockatoo
• Red Vent Parrot
• Corella
• Sulfur Cockatoo
• Sicorella
• white crested cockatoo
• yellow crested cockatoo
• yellow tailed black cockatoo

appearance

The cockatoo is a medium to large parrot with a large curved beak, small round eyes and an elaborate crest that can rise and fall at will to convey its emotions to others. Cockatoos have numbers arranged on their feet, called siamanges, which means two toes point forward and two toes point back. This allows them to cling to branches and climb trees with great precision. They even have the ability to climb with one foot and grab food with the other.

Most cockatoos display much less color than parrots. They are usually arranged in simple black and white colors because they lack the colorful veins found on other parrots. However, some species do come in a variety of vibrant and delicate colors, including reds, blues, yellows, and greens.

Typical cockatoo species measure between 12 and 24 inches in length and can weigh up to a few pounds — or about the size of a desk lamp. The largest species is the great black cockatoo or palm cockatoo, which can reach a length of 30 inches.

Cockatoos are highly social animals that gather in large flocks. The size of a flock can vary from dozens to thousands, depending on the amount of food available in a given area. Large group sizes are usually temporary affairs, and individuals can come and go at will. Cockatoos don't usually form strong bonds, except with their mates.

They make loud, raspy calls and communicate with each other through the dense foliage of their native habitat. These cacophonies allow them to communicate their emotions, issue warnings, or form social bonds. If a predator threatens them, the flock will leave sentries on guard and sound the alarm.

Crested feathers also convey important signals to nearby cockatoos. When they hang down, these feathers indicate a relaxed or docile mood. Erect feathers may indicate that the bird is very agitated or excited. The featherless skin under the eyes also changes color when the bird is excited.

Behavior

Cockatoos are somewhat of a nomadic bird, traveling long distances in large groups depending on the season.

How much they are willing to migrate depends on the species and the actual availability of food in the area. For example, species that inhabit forests tend to migrate less due to more stable food supplies. Regardless of the species, cockatoos are almost always active during the day and rest at home at night.

Cockatoos are among the smartest birds on earth. For example, the scientists observed that they could make tools out of sticks with little to no prompting. Less well known is their ability to create custom tools by breaking a stick into a more suitable size.

The bird will then hit the hollow part of the tree with a stick. It is believed that this behavior may be a territorial warning or even a way to deepen the relationship with the partner. Research shows that cockatoos are also good at solving puzzles and manipulating objects.

Habitat

In Asia, cockatoos only inhabit the Pacific Ocean. Most species are distributed in Australia, but are also widely distributed in some scattered islands such as the Philippines, New Guinea, eastern Indonesia (mainly the Sulawesi area) and Solomon Island.

Each species may occupy a large number of different native habitats, including tropical rainforests, pine forests, open plains, eucalypt forests and mangroves. They can also inhabit low slopes in some mountainous areas. Cockatoos like to roost in nests, tree hollows or dense foliage.

diet

The main food for cockatoos consists of fruits, nuts, seeds and roots. If cockatoos feel the need to eat meat, they will often resort to eating insects. Some cockatoos may specialize in specific types of vegetation, or opportunistically feed on whatever they can find. They can use their strong, curved beak and large, muscular tongue as a makeshift tool to crack open shells or dig roots and insects out of the ground.

Predators and Threats

In the wild, cockatoos are frequently preyed upon by falcons, hawks, owls, snakes and big cats. While they are not completely defenseless, their small size makes individuals vulnerable to larger predators if they can be snatched away from the flock. They are also prone to illness and infection.

Cockatoos have coexisted with humans for thousands of years. However, large-scale hunting and land development caused some friction. Due to very specific environmental requirements, cockatoos are prone to habitat loss to logging, mining and agriculture. Another big problem is the wildlife trade. International law strictly restricts the capture and trade of cockatoos in markets, but illegal poaching persists in many areas.

Some farmers consider cockatoos to be serious pests because of their tendency to feed on domesticated crops. People have resorted to poisoning, shooting, trapping or simply scaring them away to prevent them from destroying harvests. When living near human settlements, they also have a tendency to destroy property, damage gardens, or chew on electrical wires in order to eat or keep their beaks sharp. This can sometimes lead to unstable relationships with humans.

Reproduction, Babies and Longevity

Cockatoos are basically monogamous animals, and they can form deep bonds with their partners that last for years. Their emotional attachment is so strong that they sometimes suffer psychologically when they are separated from their partners. Cockatoos have been known to court each other through feeding or preening. These displays of courtship tend to subside once a bond is established.

After obtaining a mate, the couple finds a hole large enough for adults to enter, and then elaborately builds a den out of small pieces of twigs, sawdust, and leaves. These holes are sometimes so rare that cockatoos will compete with each other for real estate.

After mating, the female lays one to eight eggs every two to three days. After all eggs have been laid, both parents can share the hatching duties. The chicks that emerge last face fierce competition for food and do not always survive.

During the first few years of their lives, young birds will begin to develop and learn valuable skills from their parents. They tend to develop flight feathers within the first few months after hatching and usually reach sexual maturity between three and seven years of age.

Cockatoos live for decades in the wild, typically 25-60 years old. Some people are known to live almost as long as humans.

population

Cockatoo populations vary by species. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, there are currently seven species of cockatoos that are endangered or threatened with extinction.

The species closest to extinction are the yellow-crested cockatoo and the Philippine cockatoo. Both are listed as critically endangered. Populations of white cockatoos (aka umbrella cockatoos) living on islands in Indonesia have also declined enough to reach endangered status.

Fortunately, most cockatoo species are not currently in danger of extinction, possibly because many of them inhabit large swaths of the Australian outback. Some species have adapted and even benefited from human encroachment. The most widespread species is the galah or rose cockatoo. Sometimes dozens or hundreds can be seen rising over the Australian horizon.

Cockatoos are currently protected by an international treaty, which helps limit population depletion. Several organizations and zoos work to save the cockatoo from extinction and maintain the diversity of its gene pool through breeding programs.

See all 228 animals that start with C

Although they primarily eat nuts, fruit, seeds, and roots, cockatoos will occasionally eat insects. This makes it an omnivore.

Cockatoos are one of the most common pet parrots. Many people enjoy their company because they are very curious pets, amiable and relatively long-lived. However, these maintenance-heavy animals need plenty of space, stimulation, and companionship, or they have a tendency to damage objects around the house. Despite their highly vocal nature, they cannot mimic human speech as precisely as the most vocal parrot species. For these reasons, they should only be kept by owners who are willing to devote significant time and resources to their care. Conversely, due to their smaller size, cockatiels are often considered the easiest species to keep and maintain as pets.

Cockatoo lifespans vary by species. Some cockatoos live no more than 20 years or so. Other species can live 50 or even 70 years in captivity.

The spotty fossil record of cockatoos makes it difficult to fully understand how the animal evolved. Based on genetic analyses, it has been suggested that the common ancestor of the cockatoo lived about 28 million years ago, and that the family began to diversify significantly around 10 to 20 million years ago—about the same time that Australia itself began undergoing major transformations. Its environment and vegetation have undergone dramatic changes.

Cockatoos belong to the animal kingdom.

Baby cockatoos are called chicks or hatchlings.

Cockatoos have different wingspans.

Cockatoos lay eggs.

While both are kept as pets, cockatoos are known for their difficulties. Subsequently, they represent a smaller share of the total number of birds kept as pets worldwide. In contrast, cockatiels are very easy to keep and are one of the most popular pet birds in the world.

The main difference between cockatoos and macaws is that cockatoos are smaller, generally harder to care for, and are native to Australia and Asia. Macaws are generally larger and easier to care for, and are native to Central and South America.