Yellow-crested cockatoo

Cacatua sulphurea

Photo by James Eaton (Oriental Bird Images)

Common name:

yellow-crested cockatoo (en); cacatua-pequena-de-crista-amarela (pt); cacatoès soufré (fr); cacatúa sulfúrea (es); gelbwangenkakadu (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Psittaciformes

Family Cacatuidae

Range:

The yellow-crested cockatoo is only found in East Timor and the Indonesian islands of Bali, Timor, Sulawesi and the Lesser Sundas. There is an introduced population in Hong Kong

Size:

These birds are 33 cm long. They have a wingspan of 25-28 cm and weigh 300-370 g.

Habitat:

It inhabits woodland and cultivated areas from sea-level up to about 1200 m.

Diet:

Their diet consists mainly of seeds, berries, fruits, nuts and flowers. They have been observed raiding crops of maize and rice, and may also take green plant material.

Breeding:

Yellow-crested cockatoos pair for life and may live up to 40 years. They nests in tree cavities, at heights of 2-20 m. They lay 2 white eggs which are incubated by both parents for 27-28 days. The chicks leave the nest 75 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - CR (Critically Endangered)

The current population is estimated at as few as 2.500 individuals and is though to be declining. The main threats affecting this species are illegal trapping for commerce and logging. Just between 1980 and 1992, over 100.000 of these birds were exported from Indonesia, before this trade became illegal.