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White Tailed Black Cockatoo

White Tailed Black Cockatoo
calyptorhynchus baudinii 

Length: 66-71cms/26-28 inches
Weight:  540-790 grams
Life span:  50-60 years
Incubation: 28-30 days
Age at weaning: 16 weeks
Age at maturity:  4-6 years
Natural habitat: South Western Australia

The White Tailed Black Cockatoo, also known as Baudin's Black Cockatoo or the Long Billed Black Cockatoo, is found in the extreme South West of Australia, where they frequent high rainfall areas and heavily forested areas with Marri* and other Eucalyptus trees.  They are gregarious birds and are usually seen in family groups consisting of three birds, the breeding pair and their youngster, and out of the breeding season they can be seen flying in flocks of 200-300 birds.

Their diet consists mainly of eucalyptus seeds, their favourite being the seeds of the Marri. They will also feed on many other tree seeds and fruits.  When food is scarce they will invade orchards, here they are a big problem to fruit growers as the birds can cause major damage to the trees when they invade them to feed on the cultivated fruit.  They are also occasionally seen on farmland and grassland.  They relish insect larvae which they prise from under tree bark with the strong beaks, stripping the bark away to get at them.  Nectar and flowers are also eaten.

They nest in hollows in tall trees, a normal clutch is 2 eggs.

The White Tailed Black Cockatoo is a large bird with a wingspan of around 110cms/43 inches.  They are mostly brownish black in colour with dull white margins to the feathers.  They have large rounded patches on their ear coverts, cream in the female and brownish white in the male.  They have two central tail feathers that are black and the rest are white.  They have a large bill with an elongated upper mandible, the bill of the male is black and pale grey with a black tip with the female.  Their iris are red and their feet grey.  Juvenile birds are like the adults except the bill on a young male is grey changing to black as the bird matures.

Interesting fact: A normal clutch for the White Tailed Black Cockatoo is 2 eggs but only one chick is reared unless food is plentiful.

Another interesting fact: There is another White Tailed Black Cockatoo known as Carnaby's Cockatoo or the Short Billed Cockatoo, these look almost identical to each other unless you can get close enough to see their beaks.

*The Marri tree, corymbia calophylla, is also known as the medicine tree to the Aborigines.  The red gum from this tree is sprinkled onto wounds to prevent bleeding, it is also mixed with water to be used as a mouth wash or a disinfectant.

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