There is no way you would mention the most intelligent birds today and omit the likes of cockatoos, mynahs, and parrots. The cockatoo has an incredible capacity to imitate human vocalization. Most cockatoos are smart enough to learn as much over 1000 words in the human vocabulary upon spending adequate time in human captivity. Cockatoos have a particular penchant for learning the vocabulary of its owner.
These birds are wholly classified under 21 species. These 21 species are naturally concentrated in the Australian continent and found in tangible pockets around the world. These species are remarkably beautiful, sharing the innate intelligence (albeit in varying degrees) and the energetic nature of the cockatoo.
Just knowing about cockatoos on the surface isn’t enough for this beautiful and intriguing bird. Wouldn’t it be nice learning about these exciting cockatoo species? How about we dive in and learn more about each of them, cutting through their temperament, habitat, size, and appearance?
Citron Cockatoos
The Citron is more reserved compared to the noisier generality of cockatoo species. This doesn’t make them introverted as the Citron enjoys moments and plays with its caretaker, being an affectionate bird. Indeed, it retains the inherent curiosity of the cockatoo. The Citron easily gets depressed if left alone for long periods.
It is about 14 inches long, weighing 16 ounces. This is one remarkably pretty cockatoo with the bulk of its body covered in white embellished with orange cheek patches. Its chest is orange while its tail and under its wings are yellow. Commonly, the Citron’s beak and feet are gray.
Black Palm Cockatoos
If you don’t have ample experience raising big parrots, the black Palm cockatoo could be challenging for you. It is one of the biggest cockatoos and correspondingly powerful. Undoubtedly, substantial firmness is required when taming cockatoos. The Black Palm cockatoo’s beak can be intimidating due to its enormous size.
Its plumage comes in a smoky gray color. Its crest is relatively long, with the cheeks decorated with red patches. Also, its beak and feet are uniformly gray. The Black Palm Cockatoo is approximately 23 inches long, weighing between 32-42 ounces.
Goffin Cockatoos
This is one of the most emotional cockatoos you will get with tremendous socialization needs. When abandoned for long, expect your Goffin to develop destructive behaviors quickly. It is smart, with that intelligence intermittently spilling into mischief. Certainly, if you are good at raising big parrots, this one lovely parrot for you to try out.
The Goffin is largely white, with its crest appreciably decked with pink. Accordingly, its beak has pink covering both sides of it with underneath its wing covered in yellow. The Goffin is 13 inches long, with its weight coming between 8-14 ounces.
Bare-Eyed Cockatoos
If you choose parrots strictly by their looks, you may look past the bare-eyed cockatoo. But if you are picking them based on temperament, there is no way you are missing out on the bare-eyed cockatoo. This is by far one of the sweetest cockatoos you are getting.
Its energy and enthusiasm are infectious, always ready for a cheerful time with its caretaker. It may not be as big as the Black Palm Cockatoo’s likes, but it makes up for much of that deficiency in size with abundance in intelligence. For families who may struggle to provide for a big parrot, the bared-eye cockatoo is a worthy resort.
Its crest is white, although not as big as other cockatoo species. Its feathers are predominantly white, although feathers around the bill region have an edge of pink-orange.
This parrot’s beak is gray tan with eye circles colored in blue with a gray tone. The bared-eye cockatoo is majorly white, although its face comes with pink specs.
There is no strong distinguishing factor between the female and male little corella, necessitating a DNA test to ascertain their sex. While the little corella costs averagely in Australia, it may cost a premium outside the continent. It has a body size of 30 cm.
For farmers, the little corella is a nightmare for its tendency to overwhelm their grain storage facilities in their intimidating numbers.
Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos
The sulfur-crested cockatoo is native to New Guinea as well as Eastern and Northern Australia. Their natural habitat is in the edges of the forests. They also thrive in captivity, even in urban areas.
This bird needs significant stimulation, cutting through mental and physical recreational exercises. If starved of such stimulation, it could fall to negative behaviors like chewing on your property and picking its feather.
To amply treat this parrot, you need to procure a sizable collection of toys and be ready to supply it with a steadfast caretaker who would be prepared to spend hours with it daily.
The sulfur-crested cockatoo has four subspecies. These include the normal Mathew’s sulfur-crested cockatoo (Cacatuagaleritafitzroyi), Medium Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatuagaleritaeleonora), and the Triton cockatoo (Cacatuagalerita triton). All these subspecies are excellent as pets, closely sharing appearance and temperament.
Therefore, sulfur-crested cockatoos are generally 15-20 inches long, weighing between 12-31 ounces. The bulk of their body is white, their beak is black, while their crest is plated in yellow.
Moluccan Cockatoos
The Moluccan cockatoo – also known as the Salmon-Crested Cockatoo – naturally occurs in the Island Seram, situated in Eastern Indonesia. Well, the sustained devastation of these regions is endangering the Moluccan cockatoo. Notwithstanding, the Moluccan counts among the most popular cockatoo species. This fame can be largely traced to their charming appearance and pronounced build.
The Moluccan cockatoo has white feathers beautified with a pinkish tint while the feathers sitting underneath the wings are yellow. The feathers dressing its chest are colored in a shiny orange. However, this is not readily conspicuous unless the cockatoo’s crest is pronounced and erect. The Moluccan’s feet and bill are thoroughly black. This species also goes by the name Salmon-Crested Cockatoo.
Behaviorally, the Moluccan is a lovely bird that is quick to emotionally connect with its owner. It is incredibly loyal, always wanting the company of its caretaker. Given their elaborate social needs, you should dedicate time for it daily or have someone stay with it large portions of the day. It is pretty big for a parrot, coming at a length of 20 inches and weighing 30 ounces.
Red-Tailed Black Cockatoos
The red-tailed black cockatoo species are also known as the Banks’ black cockatoo. These parrots are native to Australia. There is a substantial deviation between the appearance of the male and female red-tailed black cockatoo.
While having a predominant black coloring, the females have light yellow-orange freckles decorating their feathers, with their chest also adorned with scanty light stripes. On the other hand, the male is predominantly black, with sharp red spots scattered across their tail feathers. While the female red-tailed black cockatoo has a horn-colored beak, that of the male is black.
With an increasing threat to their natural habitat, the red-tailed cockatoo is sporadically spread across Australia.
Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos
The Major Mitchell stands out for the beauty of its chest. This parrot impressively combines such aesthetic allure with intelligence. This parrot is native to Western and Southern Australia. They don’t naturally live in the open field, preferring the privacy of the forest.
The majority of its body is covered in pinkish-white while the neck region is adorned with pink patches. This pink also extends to the underbelly. Underneath the Major Mitchell’s wings is dressed with pink, with its crest a combo of yellow-orange and pink. The crest is furnished with some white specs as well.
It is advisable to have reasonable experience raising big birds to go with this parrot as it is about 14 inches long, weighing 15 ounces.
Slender-Billed Cockatoos
This cockatoo is also commonly referred to as the long-billed corellas. Their fame is beginning to spread across the globe, although they have been celebrity parrots in Australia for generations. As characteristic of the cockatoo family, the slender-billed cockatoo loves having attention from its caretaker. This is crucial to their emotional health.
This is a big bird with length ranging from 16-20 inches while weighing 23 ounces. This parrot has a notably long beak with pink coloring just on top of the beak. It has white plumage with a small crest.
Rose-Breasted Cockatoos
The Rose-breasted cockatoo is readily referred to as the Galah. Large populations of the Galah are scattered across the Australian continent, where they are also called the cockatoo pink.
They are very social and are comfortable living in open fields, as opposed to hiding away in the forest. They are commonly seen in large packs, feeding on crops and savoring drinking wells artificially constructed for cattle.
The Galah is closely related to the white cockatoo species, being among the smaller cockatoos. The Galah has gray feathers enhanced with a captivating pink. Its chest is covered in sharp pink while its feet and bill are bone-colored, with a tan beak.
Their lively and enthusiastic temperament makes them favorites, although the Galah can be intermittently loud. If appropriately taken care of, you can expect a faithful companion that will loyally stay with you up to 80 years. The Galah is about 12-15 inches long while it weighs around 10-14 ounces.
Glossy Black Cockatoos
Going by the Latin name of Calyptorhynchuslathami, the Glossy Black cockatoo is native to Australia, mainly found in the eastern coast. A subspecies of the Glossy Black is substantially concentrated on the Kangaroo Island.
Their natural habitat cuts across the woodlands and the open forests. This parrot has a healthy population and is not endangered at present.
The Glossy Black is closely related to the red-tailed black cockatoo, only that the latter is bigger. The Glossy Black cockatoo is sexually dimorphic, just as is obtainable in the red-tailed black cockatoo. Indeed, there is a slight variation in the appearance of the male and the female.
The female’s dark brown isn’t as deep as that of the male, while the female has its collar and tail decorated with yellow flecks. The bulk of the male Glossy Black cockatoo’s body is covered in black. Its head is slightly lighter with a chocolate brown coloring adorned with enchanting caudal red patches. Also, in contrast to the female, the male has a patched tail while the female doesn’t.
An adult Glossy Black cockatoo is about 18-19.5 inches long. This parrot’s major diet is based on the she-oak’s seeds, which are richly found in woodlands and forests. There are three subspecies of the Glossy Black cockatoo, although there isn’t much differentiating these subspecies. Indeed, these subspecies can safely interbreed between themselves.
Ducorps Corella (Solomons Cockatoos)
The Ducorp’s Corella, which is readily known as the Ducorps cockatoo, is highly concentrated in the Solomon Islands, flanking Australia. They shy away from open fields, preferring the reservedness of the woody forest. They may not be as smart as the Black Palm cockatoo’s likes, but they can appreciably pick up the lingo and vocalization of its caretaker.
They are not very big, with white feathers enhanced with a splash of pink bordering the bill. Their crest is white and not too pronounced while their beak and feet are bone-colored. Altogether, the Ducorps share a deep resemblance to the Goffins Corella.
Umbrella Cockatoos
Opposed to the generality of cockatoo species naturally occurring in Australia or New Guinea, the Umbrella is native to Indonesia. They move or live in small clusters, with a capacity ranging from 2-10 birds at a time. They spend the bulk of their lives in forest areas, barely frequenting the open field.
The Umbrella cockatoo is remarkably smart and quick to pick up the speech of its caretaker. It also excels at learning new tricks. Admittedly, these affectionate parrots are sticky, preferring to follow their owners everywhere possible. They are gentle and appropriately behaved, making excellent family pets.
Their plumage is predominantly white, while the crest is extended and conspicuous. The Umbrella cockatoo’s tail and wing have patches of pale yellow. Its beak is thoroughly black. Indeed, this parrot is about 18 inches long, weighing between 16-26 ounces.
Cockatiels
The Cockatiel also belongs to the family of small cockatoos. They naturally occur in the Australian continent, largely domiciled in the dryer inland of Australia. Indeed, they are also sizable populations of the Cockatiel in Puerto Rico. These birds live mostly in forests bordering waterways or grasslands and bushlands.
The Cockatiel shares a striking resemblance to the Raven cockatoo family. However, they don’t simultaneously come under one genus. They eat the same basic foods of the general cockatoo family, sharing their toys as well. Cockatiels live and move along in moderately sized groups of 5-20 birds.
The Cockatiel has an approximate length of 30 cm. There is no much to tell the male from the female, and only a DNA testing can assuredly ascertain the gender of a cockatiel.
Blue-eyed Cockatoos
The blue-eyed cockatoo is closely identical to the sulfur-crested cockatoos. One way to tell the blue-eyed cockatoo from the former is the crest, which is more prominently rounded than that of the sulfur-crested cockatoo.
Also, the front of the blued-eye cockatoo’s crest is whiter than that of the former, with the naked rim surrounding the eye of the blued-eye cockatoo having a sharper tone of blue. A blue-eyed cockatoo would fully mature in around 4 years. If well taken care of, your blued-eye cockatoo has an average lifespan of 50 years.
The blue-eyed cockatoo belongs to the family of larger cockatoos, coming at a length of 20 inches. Its beak is black while its crest is pronounced and admirably erect. The legs of this parrot are dark grey with the bulk of the body white.
The male and female are identical. In some cases, the female of the parrot has reddish-brown irises while the male has dark brown irises.
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