Yellow-crested cockatoo | |
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Wing-clipped cockatoo at Guangzhou Zoo | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Psittaciformes |
Family: | Cacatuidae |
Genus: | Cacatua |
Subgenus: | Cacatua |
Species: | C. sulphurea |
Binomial name | |
Cacatua sulphurea (Gmelin, JF, 1788) | |
Native (blue) and introduced (red) ranges of C. sulphurea |
The yellow-crested cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea) also known as the lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo, is a medium-sized (about 34-cm-long) cockatoo with white plumage, bluish-white bare orbital skin, grey feet, a black bill, and a retractile yellow or orange crest. The sexes are similar.
The yellow-crested cockatoo is found in wooded and cultivated areas of East Timor and Indonesia's islands of Sulawesi and the Lesser Sundas. It is easily confused with the larger [3] [4] and more common sulphur-crested cockatoo, which has a more easterly distribution and can be distinguished by the lack of pale yellow coloring on its cheeks (although some sulphur-cresteds develop yellowish patches). Also, the yellow-crested cockatoo's crest is a brighter color, closer to orange. [5] The citron-crested cockatoo, which used to be considered a subspecies of the yellow-crested cockatoo, is similar, but its crest is orange and it is endemic to Sumba. [6]
The yellow-crested cockatoo's diet consists mainly of seeds, buds, fruits, nuts, and herbaceous plants.
In the 18th century, yellow-crested cockatoos were imported into Europe as pets and these birds were described by various naturalists. In 1738 English naturalist Eleazar Albin included a description and illustration of the "Cockatoo or White crested parrot" in his A Natural History of Birds based on a bird displayed at "The Tiger" tavern on Tower Hill in London. [7] In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included "Le Kakatoes à hupe jaune" in his Onithologie based on a live bird that he had seen in Paris. [8] Then in 1764, George Edwards included the "Lesser white cockatoo with a yellow crest" in his Gleanings of natural history from a pet bird kept at a home in Essex, [9] and in 1779 French polymath Comte de Buffon included the bird in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. [10] [11]
When the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin revised and expanded Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae in 1788 he included the yellow-crested cockatoo based on the accounts of earlier naturalists. He placed it with the parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus sulphureus. [12] The type locality is the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. [13] The yellow-crested cockatoo is now one of 11 species placed in the genus Cacatua that was introduced in 1817 by Louis Pierre Vieillot. [14]
According to the International Ornithological Congress, 5 subspecies are recognized: [14]
Previously, only 4 of these were recognized, but djampeana and occidentalis were recognized in 2022 based on a 2014 phylogenetic study. The subspecies paulandrewi, thought to be endemic to the Tukangbesi Islands and also recognized in the 2014 study, is not recognized by the IOC. [14] [15]
Until 2023, the citron-crested cockatoo (Cacatua citrinocristata) was considered by the IOC to be a subspecies of yellow-crested cockatoo. [16]
The yellow-crested cockatoo nests in tree cavities. The eggs are white and usually two in a clutch. The incubation is shared by both parents. The eggs are incubated for about 28 days and the chicks leave the nest about 75 days after hatching. [6]
The yellow-crested cockatoo is critically endangered. [1] Numbers have declined dramatically due to illegal trapping for the cage-bird trade. Between 1980 and 1992, over 100,000 of these birds were legally exported from Indonesia, yet a German proposal submitted to CITES to move it to Appendix I [17] was not approved. It has since been moved to Appendix I. [3] The current population is estimated at fewer than 2,500 individuals and is thought to be declining in number. [3]
The subspecies C. s. abbotti is found only on the island of Masakambing. Its population on this tiny island (about 5 km2 or 1.9 mi2) had fallen to 10 as of June and July 2008. The decline results from trapping and logging, especially of mangroves ( Avicennia apiculata) and kapok trees. [18]
Several national parks their habitat, including Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park on Sulawesi, Komodo National Park on Komodo Island, the national parks of Manupeu Tanah Daru and Laiwangi Wanggameti on Sumba, and the Nino Konis Santana National Park in East Timor (Timor-Leste). [3]
An introduced population of these birds is found in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s feral population is estimated to be around 200, 10% of the total wild population. [19] They are a common sight across the densely populated area on both sides of the harbour, easily spotted in the woods and public parks in the north and west of Hong Kong Island. The large group has developed from some caged birds that have been released into the Hong Kong area over many years. [20] An often repeated story is that Hong Kong Governor Sir Mark Aitchison Young released the Government House's entire bird collection – including a large number of yellow-crested cockatoos – hours before surrendering Hong Kong to Japanese troops in December 1941. [21] Historians and conservation biologists in Hong Kong have found no evidence to corroborate this story, and believe that Hong Kong's yellow-crested cockatoo population is made up of escaped pets. The earliest record of an escaped yellow-crested cockatoo pet comes from 1959. [22]
A cockatoo is any of the 21 species of parrots belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea and the Strigopoidea, they make up the order Psittaciformes. The family has a mainly Australasian distribution, ranging from the Philippines and the eastern Indonesian islands of Wallacea to New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Australia.
The pink cockatoo, also known as Major Mitchell's cockatoo or Leadbeater's cockatoo, is a medium-sized cockatoo that inhabits arid and semi-arid inland areas across Australia, with the exception of the north east.
The salmon-crested cockatoo, also known as the Moluccan cockatoo, is a cockatoo endemic to the Seram archipelago in eastern Indonesia. At a height of up to 46–52 centimetres (1.51–1.71 ft) and weight of up to 850 grams (1.87 lb), it is among the largest of the white cockatoos. The female is slightly smaller than the male on average. It has white-pink feathers with a definite peachy glow, a slight yellow on the underwing and underside of the tail feathers and a large retractable recumbent crest which it raises when threatened, revealing hitherto concealed bright red-orange plumes to frighten potential attackers. It may also be raised in excitement or in other 'emotional' displays. Some describe the crest as "flamingo-colored". It also has one of the louder calls in the parrot world and in captivity is a capable mimic.
The galah, less commonly known as the pink and grey cockatoo or rose-breasted cockatoo, is an Australian species of cockatoo and the only member of the genus Eolophus. The galah is adapted to a wide variety of modified and unmodified habitats and is one of Australia's most abundant and widespread bird species. The species is endemic to mainland Australia. It was introduced to Tasmania, where it is now widespread, in the mid-19th century and much more recently to New Zealand.
The sulphur-crested cockatoo is a relatively large white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia, New Guinea, and some of the islands of Indonesia. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being considered pests. A highly intelligent bird, they are well known in aviculture, although they can be demanding pets.
The citron-crested cockatoo is a medium-sized cockatoo with an orange crest, dark grey beak, pale orange ear patches, and strong feet and claws. The underside of the larger wing and tail feathers have a pale yellow color. The eyelid color is a very light blue. Both sexes are similar. Females have a copper colored eye where as the male has a very dark black eye.
The yellow-shouldered amazon, also known as the yellow-shouldered parrot, is a parrot of the genus Amazona that is found in the arid areas of northern Venezuela, the Venezuelan islands of Margarita and La Blanquilla, and the island of Bonaire. It has been extirpated from and reintroduced to Aruba and introduced to Curaçao.
The rainbow lorikeet is a species of parrot found in Australia. It is common along the eastern seaboard, from northern Queensland to South Australia. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. Six taxa traditionally listed as subspecies of the rainbow lorikeet are now treated as separate species.
Cacatua is a genus of cockatoos found from the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands to Australia. They have a primarily white plumage, an expressive crest, and a black or pale bill. Today, several species from this genus are considered threatened due to a combination of habitat loss and capture for the wild bird trade, with the blue-eyed cockatoo considered vulnerable, Moluccan cockatoo, and umbrella cockatoo considered endangered, and the red-vented cockatoo and yellow-crested cockatoo considered critically endangered.
The hair-crested drongo is an Asian bird of the family Dicruridae. This species was formerly considered conspecific with Dicrurus bracteatus, for which the name "spangled drongo" – formerly used for both – is now usually reserved. Some authorities include the Sumatran drongo in D. hottentottus as subspecies.
The great-billed parrot also known as Moluccan parrot or island parrot, is a medium-sized, approximately 38 cm long, green parrot with a massive red bill, cream iris, blackish shoulders, olive green back, pale blue rump and yellowish green underparts. The female is typically smaller than the male, but otherwise the sexes are similar.
The gray-headed lovebird or Madagascar lovebird is a small species of parrot of the lovebird genus. It is a mainly green parrot. The species is sexually dimorphic and only the adult male has grey on its upper body. They are native on the island of Madagascar and are the only lovebird species which are not native on the African continent. They are the smallest of the lovebird species. It is rarely seen in aviculture and it is difficult to breed in captivity.
The golden parakeet or golden conure, or the Queen of Bavaria conure is a medium-sized golden-yellow Neotropical parrot native to the Amazon Basin of interior northern Brazil. It is the only species placed in the genus Guaruba.
The jandaya parakeet or jenday conure, is a small Neotropical parrot with green wings and tail, reddish-orange body, yellow head and neck, orange cheeks, and black bill, native to wooded habitats in northeastern Brazil. It is a member of the Aratinga solstitialis complex of parakeets very closely related to, and possibly subspecies of the sun parakeet.
The Eleonora cockatoo, Cacatua galerita eleonora, also known as medium sulphur-crested cockatoo, is a subspecies of the sulphur-crested cockatoo. It is native to the Aru Islands in the province of Maluku in eastern Indonesia, but has also been introduced to Kai Islands. Avicultural populations are well-established in Europe and the United States.
Cacatua is a subgenus of the white cockatoos. They are found in wooded habitats from Wallacea east to the Bismarck Archipelago and south to Australia. With the exception of the yellow-crested cockatoo, all are relatively large cockatoos with a total length of 45–55 cm (18–22 in). Their plumage is mainly white, and the underwing and -tail have a yellowish tinge. Their crest is expressive and brightly coloured in most species. Unlike the members of the subgenus Licmetis, the members of the subgenus Cacatua have a black bill.
The greater sulphur-crested cockatoo is the nominate subspecies of the sulphur-crested cockatoo. Its length is up to 50 cm and weighs 0.91 kg, making it one of the largest cockatoo species.
The Triton cockatoo is one of the four subspecies of the sulphur-crested cockatoo. The cockatoo was first described by Dutch zoologist, Coenraad Jacob Temminck, in 1849. There is no documentation as to why Temminck selected this name however it is suggested that it was named after the Dutch corvette, Triton, which operated off the Dutch New Guinea coastline, in 19th century.
The Mathews' cockatoo or northern sulphur-crested cockatoo is a subspecies of the sulphur-crested cockatoo. Its scientific name relates to the area in which it was first found, the Fitzroy River and its common name comes from Gregory Mathews, the Australian ornithologist who first identified it as a subspecies in 1912.