SULPHUR- CRESTED COCKATOO

BY

ALI SHAH

“ The Sulphur-CrestedCockatoo is one of

Australian’s best-known birds, and its familiarity

worldwide as a good natured pet, contrasts with its wary nature in the wild”

Distribution

The Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo is found in most types of open

timbered country throughout northern and south eastern

Australia, Tasmania and some

offshore islands.

ORDER:

Psittaciformes

FAMILY:Cacatuidae

GENUS & SPECIES:Cacatua galerita

Lifestyle

Voice: A variety of very loud, raucous screeches.

Habit: Active day by day; in pairs or small groups.

Diet: Seeds, roots, bulbs, nuts; also some insects and their larva.

Lifespan: In captivity , over 50 years.

Breeding Number of Broods: 1

Eggs: 2 , occasionally 3, white, oval

incubation: 30 days

Fledging period: 60 – 70 days

CharacteristicsThe Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo is

a noisy and conspicuous bird. With its white plumage and

yellow crest gleaming in the sun, it leaves its roost site in flocks to drink and feed, and provides on of the most spectacular sights to

be seen in Australia.

Food & Feedings

The Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo feeds on a wide variety of seeds,

as well as on nuts, barriers, fruits, flower blossoms, and

corns. They also eat some insects

and their larva.

Related SpeciesThere are 17 other species of cockatoo including the lesser

sulphur-crested cockatoo, and the blue –eyed cockatoo.

SULPHUR -CRESTED COCKATOO & MAN

The Sulphur-CrestedCockatoo is protected in

nearly all Australian States, although permits are issued to formers to shoot them in crop-growing areas. It has

also become a familiar sight in some urban areas specially Canberra in the

southeast , where it can be seen on the lawns of

Parliament House.

THE END