Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

Taxobox | name = Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1

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image_width = 300px
image_caption = A Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo in Swifts Creek, Australia
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Psittaciformes
familia = Cacatuidae
subfamilia = Calyptorhynchinae
genus = "Calyptorhynchus"
subgenus = "Zanda"
species = "C. funereus"
binomial = "Calyptorhynchus funereus"
binomial_authority = Shaw, 1794
range_

range_map_width = 250px
range_map_caption = Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo range (in red)
subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
subdivision = "C. (Z.) f. funereus"
"C. (Z.) f. whiteae"
"C. (Z.) f. xanthanotus"

The Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, "Calyptorhynchus funereus", is native to the south-east of Australia and is the largest of the cockatoos and of Australian parrots. It is found from Eyre Peninsula to south and central eastern Queensland. In some places at least, they appear to have adapted to humans and can be often seen in many parts of urban Sydney and Melbourne.

Although not particularly common, they are one of the most well-loved and characteristic birds of southern Australia. They are usually seen flying at only moderate height. They have particularly large wings and flap deeply, very slowly, and with a peculiar heavy, fluid motion. Their loud, eerie wailing calls carry for long distances, and the combination of sound and silhouette is unmistakable.

Taxonomy and naming

The Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo was first described by the English naturalist George Shaw. The current genus name, "Calyptorhynchus", comes from the Greek "calypto-"/καλυπτο- "hidden" and "rhynchus"/ρυγχος "beak". [ cite book|last=Liddell| first=Henry George|coauthor=Robert Scott|year=1980|title=Greek-English Lexicon, Abridged Edition |publisher=Oxford University Press|location= Oxford|isbn= 0-19-910207-4] The change was first made by Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest in 1826. [cite encyclopedia |last=Desmarest |first= Anselme Gaëtan |authorlink = Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest|title=Perroquet |encyclopedia=Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles dans lequel on traite méthodiquement des différens êtres de la nature, considérés soit en eux-mêmes, d'après l'état actuel de nos connoissances, soit relativement à l'utilité qu'en peuvent retirer la médecine, l'agriculture, le commerce et les arts. Suivi d'une biographie des plus célèbres naturalistes. Par plusieurs Professeurs du Jardin du Roi, et des principales Écoles de Paris|pages=pp. 21,117 |year= 1826 |publisher=F.G. Levrault |location= Strasbourg|id=OCLC|4345179]

Description

Adult birds are between 55 and 65 cm in length and weigh over 800 grams, black overall with paler feather-margins and patches of pale yellow in the tail. The male bird (illustrated at right) has a black bill, a dull yellow patch behind the eye, and a reddish eye-ring. Females and immatures have a grey eye-ring, a light-coloured bill, and a brighter, more clearly-defined yellow cheek-patch.

Behaviour

Diet

Their natural food is varied, but much of the diet comprises seeds of native trees, particularly she-oak ("Casuarina") but also "Eucalyptus", "Acacia", "Banksia" and "Hakea". They are also partial to pine cones in plantations of the introduced "Pinus radiata". They are very fond of the larvae of tree-boring beetles and moths, and strip the bark from the trees and tear away at the wood to find them.

Breeding

The yellow-tailed black cockatoos have a long breeding season. Both sexes construct the nest, which is a large tree hollow, lined with wood chips. The female alone incubates one or two eggs, while the male supplies the food. Usually only one chick survives, and it stays in the care of its parents for about six months.

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

* Flegg, Jim. "Birds of Australia: Photographic Field Guide" Sydney: Reed New Holland, 2002. (ISBN 1-876334-78-9)
* Crome, F. and Shields, J. "Parrots & Pigeons of Australia" 1992 Angus and Robertson and the National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife, Sydney.

External links

* [http://www.parrotscience.com ParrotScience - cockatoo heavy information site]
* [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/especie.phtml?idEspecie=2032 Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo videos] on the Internet Bird Collection