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Sulfur crested cockatoo ritual12/28/2023 ![]() The cockatoo’s common and Latin name, Cacatua, stem from the Malayan word kakatoe: an imitation of the bird’s calls.Ī sulphur-crested cockatoo uses its distinctive crest to reflect its mood. The oldest captive bird in the world was a sulphur-crested cockatoo called “Cocky,” who died in London at the age of 82. The sulphur-crested cockatoo’s eye color can reveal its sex - dark brown in males, reddish-brown in females. The cockatoo feeds in the trees and on the ground. The sentries call raucously to alert the feeding birds, which immediately take to the air.įoot and mouth The cockatoo often brings food to its bill with its feet. While the main flock is feeding on the ground, several cockatoos keep a lookout from the tops of nearby trees.All is quiet until…Ī dingo appears on the scene. The birds spend some time surveying the land, searching for open areas where they can feed in safety on the ground. Squawking noisily, they set off at dawn, first to drink, then to feed. SAFETY IN NUMBERSĬockatoos spend the night in the safety of a roost. BEHAVIORĪ Undercover Trees provide roosts and shade from heat. Elsewhere it’s often kept as a pet and despite the illegal capture of wild specimens, the species is in no immediate danger. In parts of New Guinea, the sulphur-crested cockatoo is still hunted for its feathers. Tree holes, or hollow trees, provide an ideal nest site. Young remain in the nest until they fledge at 10 weeks and fly out, dispersing to join a flock. Hatching naked and blind five weeks later, young are fed by both parents. If he does well, a session of mutual preening and bill-touching follows to cement the bond.Īfter mating, the female lays 2-3 white eggs. ![]() BREEDINGĭuring the breeding season, the male performs a courtship ritual that involves strutting along a branch toward the female.With his crest raised, he bobs his head up and down and from side to side in a figure-eight pattern. ![]() However as the same flocks also consume enormous quantities of weed seeds, such as thistles, which are an invasive farmland pest, the cockatoo’s feeding habits are also a benefit to farmers. Large flocks feeding in agricultural areas can cause considerable damage to commercial crops and the cockatoo is regarded as a pest in cereal-growing districts of Australia. The cockatoo also supplements its diet with flowers, leaf buds, insects and larvae. The perching cockatoo is never far from trees.įruit, seeds, berries and nuts make up the main part of the sulphur-crested cockatoo’s diet.These are taken from a variety of trees and bushes and from the ground. ![]() In Australia, the species has become particularly common and widespread on farmland and, recently, has increasingly begun to move into urban areas during the winter: Some cities in eastern Australia, such as Sydney and Canberra, even have large resident flocks of sulphur-crested cockatoos living in the suburbs. The cockatoo occupies a wide range of habitats in Australia and New Guinea, occurring in highland forests to 4,9507,920′, in eucalyptus forests, coastal mangroves and in savannah woodland. HABITATĪ Local color Flocks of sulphur-crested cockatoos rarely move far from their home patch and tend to stay in one locality year-round. It protects itself when feeding in a flock on the ground by posting lookouts in nearby trees to give early warning of danger. The sulphur-crested cockatoo is a wary bird.
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