Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

How to identify

Field marks

1. White overall, with yellow on underwing and underside of tail
2. Crest yellow, raised when angry
3. Bill black, legs and feet gray, eye-ring whitish

Male, female and young

Males usually have blackish eyes and females reddish or brown eyes, but very good light is needed to see the difference.

Voice

Noisy calls that can be very loud.

Similar species

Yellow-crested Cockatoo

Yellow-crested Cockatoo is smaller; the two are easily confused in captivity.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: September–October · Most records: Australia, Papua New Guinea, Palau

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo has been recorded at 297 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 13 countries and regions.

Records by month Southern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

1. Jerrabomberra Wetlands Nature ReserveAustralia4,575 records
2. Coachwood ParkAustralia3,967 records
3. SpringwoodAustralia3,868 records

Countries and regions with the most records

AustraliaPapua New GuineaPalauSingaporeChinaBahamasNew ZealandThailand

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) is a relatively large white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia, New Guinea, and some of the islands of Indonesia. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being considered pests. As highly intelligent birds, they are well known in aviculture, although they can be demanding pets.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions