Sulphur-crested cockatoo

Cacatua galerita · 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.

Also called Sulfur-crested Cockatoo.

Sulphur-crested cockatoo
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sulphur-crested cockatoo
Photo: Crisco 1492, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sulphur-crested cockatoo
Photo: Daderot, CC0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassAves
OrderPsittaciformes
FamilyCacatuidae
GenusCacatua
SpeciesCacatua galerita

Where it lives

Woodland of northern and eastern Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea.

Fun facts

  • In Sydney, these clever cockatoos have learned to open garbage bins for food, and the trick spreads among the birds by imitation.
  • Some captive sulphur-crested cockatoos will spontaneously dance to music with a variety of unique moves.
  • Instead of using oil like many other birds, they make a very fine powder to waterproof themselves.
  • When a flock feeds on the ground, at least one bird sits high in a tree keeping guard, which even inspired an Australian slang word for a lookout.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).