- Cacatua galerita
Identification
45–55 cm (17¾-21½ in)
A large white cockatoo. It has a distinctive long yellow crest, and a yellow wash over the ears and under the wings and tail.
Sexes are similar, however they can be distinguished on eye colour. Males have dark brown eyes while females have a more reddish-brown eye. Juveniles resemble adults.
Distribution
Widespread and common in eastern and northern Australia from Adelaide in the west and Tasmania in the south to Cape York and across to the Kimberly in the north. There is a feral population established in Perth, Western Australia. The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo also occurs in Papua New Guinea and the Aru Islands, and there are feral populations in Indonesia and New Zealand.
Taxonomy
The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo is placed with the family Cacatuidae within the order Psittaciformes. Other members of the Cacatua genus include the Major Mitchell's Cockatoo in Australia, the Yellow-crested Cockatoo, Moluccan Cockatoo and Umbrella Cockatoo in Indonesia and the Blue-eyed Cockatoo in Papua New Guinea.
Subspecies
There are 4 subspecies[1]:
- C. g. triton:
- New Guinea and adjacent islands
- C. g. eleonora:
- Aru Islands
- C. g. fitzroyi:
- Northern Australia (Fitzroy River to Gulf of Carpenteria)
- C. g. galerita:
Habitat
Open woodland, agricultural districts and around human settlement
Behaviour
Birds spend much of their time in play, characteristically and famously breaking and dropping branches, chewing house decking and panelling and removing rubber sealing on street lights.
Breeding
Birds breed in monogamous pairs, using tree hollows for nesting.
Diet
Outside of the breeding season Sulphur-crested Cockatoos congregate in large flocks, feeding on berries, seeds, nuts, roots, grubs and grain either on the ground or in trees. Typically feeding groups post one or more lookouts in nearby vantage points to watch for danger.
The species is considered a pest in agricultural areas, where it eats grain and orchard fruit.
Vocalisation
Call: An extremely loud raucous screech, ending with an upwards inflection. Commonly uttered during flight.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- BirdForum member observations
- Higgins, P.J. (ed.) 1999. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic birds. Vol. 4, parrots to dollarbirds. Oxford University Press, Melbourne.
- Rowley, I., Kirwan, G.M. & Boesman, P. (2019). Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/54423 on 25 December 2019).
- Styche, A. 2013. Sulphur-crested cockatoo. In Miskelly, C.M. (ed.) New Zealand Birds Online. www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz
- Thomas, K. 2007. "Cacatua galerita" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed December 25, 2019 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Cacatua_galerita/
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Sulphur-crested Cockatoo. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 4 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Sulphur-crested_Cockatoo
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
