Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

The Sulphur Crested Cockatoo is a moderately large parrot with white feathers all over the body except for the distinctive sulphur-yellow crest and the undersides of the wings and tail. The beak of these birds is large and grey-black in color. Both sexes of these birds look alike, but at a close range it’s evident that females have red-brown eyes, while males have dark brown eyes. There are four subspecies of the Sulphur Crested Cockatoo that inhabit various areas and differ slightly in crest size and feather coloration.

The Sulphur Crested Cockatoo is found in Australia. These birds are typical of the Australian bush. Sulphur Crested Cockatoo flocks can be seen from Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales to the northern part of Queensland and the Kimberly area of Western Austarlia. These birds were successfully introduced to New Zealand, Perth, and Western Australia.

These birds live in large flocks. Together they forage on the ground and leave one of the birds on a tree to alert the flock in case of danger. When flying, the Sulphur Crested Cockatoo flock makes much noise. Loud screech of several hundreds birds may be deafening. The common food for these birds is nuts, seeds, and fruit. They are considered pests for agriculture, as they cause damage to grain crops. In some areas, the Sulphur Crested Cockatoo can be culled with a license to save the crops.

Birds of this species are commonly kept as pets. In Australia, it’s possible to buy a wild-caught Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, but in the rest of the world, these birds are raised in aviaries, as exporting wild-caught creatures is illegal. The Sulphur Crested Cockatoo is not the easiest bird to keep, as it’s very loud in captivity and needs a large aviary. To avoid boredom, these birds should be provided with fresh tree branches and toys for chewing. In captivity, these birds can be fed a variety of seeds, vegetables, and fruit. Sulphur Crested Cockatoos are very intelligent. They need much communication with the owner. The Sulphur Crested Cockatoo is able to bond to one person only and tends to be aggressive to others.