Threat Level
Least Concern

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Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Fact Sheet

(Cacatua galerita)

The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo is probably Australia's best known parrot. These birds are often kept as pets, as they are extremely intelligent and are very good at learning to talk. Be warned though - they can be very loud, mischievous and live for more than 70 years! If you don't have the time to spend with these wonderful birds, they are not the pet for you.

Habitat

Widely distributed through most types of open timbered country throughout northern, eastern and southwestern mainland.

Diet

Mid-morning the cockatoos usually feed on seeds on the ground, then during the hottest part of the day they sit in trees near the feeding area, stripping the leaves and bark. In the afternoon they feed again and then fly back to their roosting trees for the night. Each day they return to feed in the same area until the food supply is exhausted. They eat the seeds of grasses and herbaceous plants, grains, bulbous roots, berries, nuts and leaf buds.

Breeding

Sulphur-crested Cockatoos nest in hollow limbs or holes high up in Eucalypts near water. They breed between August and January in the South and March to September in the North

Anthony

Sex: Male

You Can Adopt Anthony

G'day everyone.
Anthony is a very social young 'man' and loves nothing more than to stop and have a chat. Being as charming as he is, a crowd soon converges. After saying 'Hello' to everyone he then often inquires as to their names. If the response comes back with any hint of a foreign accent, it is not unusual for Anthony to reply, 'What ya talking about?' He is very cheeky and seems to have the knack for looking directly at the biggest, burliest bloke before saying, 'Hello little girl'. As the crowd (with the exception of the big, burly bloke) laughs, you guessed it; Anthony laughs right along with them. Time to move on. As the crowd bid Anthony farewell, he waves and says, 'See ya later'.

Joey

Age: 10 years (DOB 30/11/1999)

Sex: Male

You Can Adopt Joey

Hello again, from the roving family. This week I would like to introduce you to a special bird I have been working with. His name is Joey and he is a Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo. Joey is about 35 years old and is only really a spring chicken because these birds can live to be around 100 years old.

Joey and I have been working together for about 7 months now and we love to go for walks in the Zoo. Whenever we are out and about in the Zoo grounds we love to stop and meet guests. Joey is very polite and loves to say 'hello' to everyone, however he is not as talkative as some of the other Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos at Australia Zoo. Joey much prefers to cuddle up to his handler while he is out on his walks. He loves to be scratched around the head and to have his feathers ruffled so that he can clean them up again. He loves to be a bit of a sook.

Joey's favourite thing to do at the moment is to hide from guests. Joey, however, doesn't hide his whole body from people, he just prefers to hide his head under his wing. I think Joey thinks that if he can't see anyone, then no one can see him!

So next time you're here at the Zoo, see if you can find Joey out and about and see if he'll say hi! Or maybe there'll be a game of hide and seek waiting to be played.

Occa

Sex: Male

You Can Adopt Occa

Occa is a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo. He is in his late thirties, which is actually still rather young for a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, as they can live up to 80 years of age and sometimes even past 100. The average cockatoo has the learning capability of about a one- to two year old child, and they can learn and remember many phrases. Occa can do many impersonations, like a rooster crowing, a dog barking and even a kettle whistling. (We are still practising "CRIKEY!").

He's very intelligent and even surprises us sometimes with what he comes out with. He often asks us if we want a drink of water or a cup of coffee, but one day he said, "Occa wants a can of coke". Occa is such a great mate, and always has his keepers laughing.