Yellow-crested Cockatoo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Yellow-crested Cockatoo | ||||||||||||||||||
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 Sulphur-crested Cockatoo on the right and the Yellow-crested Cockatoo on left
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| Cacatua sulphurea Gmelin, 1788 |
The Yellow-crested Cockatoo, Cacatua sulphurea also known as Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo is a medium-sized, up to 35cm long, cockatoo with an all-white feathers, bluish bare orbital skin, grey feet, black bill and yellow crest. Both sexes are similar.
The Yellow-crested Cockatoo is distributed to wooded and cultivated areas of Timor-Leste and Indonesia's islands of Bali, Timor, Sulawesi and Lesser Sunda Islands. It is easily confused with the larger[1][2] and more common sulphur crested cockatoo, which is native to Australia and can be distinguished by the pale yellow colouring on its cheeks. The yellow-crested cockatoo also has a brighter crest which is closer to orange in colour.[3] The yellow-crested cockatoo's diet consists mainly of seeds, buds, fruits, nuts and herbaceous plants. The female lays two to three eggs in a tree hole. Both parents incubate the eggs for about 27 days.
There is a feral population of these birds in Hong Kong. The large group has apparently developed from a number of caged birds that have been released into the Hong Kong skies over many years.
The Yellow-crested Cockatoo is critically endangered. Numbers have declined dramatically due to illegal trapping for the cage-bird trade. The current population is estimated at less than 10,000. It is listed on Appendix I of CITES.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Cacatua sulphurea. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is critically endangered
- ^ http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=1398&m=0
- ^ http://www.austmus.gov.au/factsheets/sulphur_crested_cockatoo.htm
- ^ http://www.flickr.com/photos/kclama/6627777/comment5216889/
[edit] External links
- Cockatoos of Hong Kong
- ARKive - images and movies of the Yellow-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea)
- BirdLife Species Factsheet
- IUCN Red List
- Red Data Book
