RSS

Yellow-Tailed Black-Cockatoo - Calyptorhynchus lathami

Red-Tailed Black-Cockatoo

Calyptorhynchus banksii

Family: Cacatuidae (Cockatoos, 14 species in Australia)
Size: 63 cm
Distribution: Most of Northern and Western Australia to about 1000-2000 km from the coasts, except within about 50-100 km of the coast of West coast of WA. Small distributions in Southwestern VIC. Occasionally seen as south as Sydney on the East coast.
Status: Common
Habitat: Open forests, farms, pines
References: Simpson and Day, Reader's Digest

Not generally seen in the Blue Mountains or Sydney, though I have seen two of them once in the Kuring-Gai Chase National Park in Northern Sydney.

It has red markings under its tail. It does not have a coloured patch on the side of its head like the Yellow-Tailed Black-Cockatoo. However the female (shown below) has small yellow spots on her.

Red-Tailed Black-Cockatoo - Calyptorhynchus banksii
Photo: Featherdale Wildlife Park, Sydney NSW. High Resolution (1499 x 1487)

Red-Tailed Black-Cockatoo - Calyptorhynchus banksii
Photo: Featherdale Wildlife Park, Sydney NSW. High Resolution (2588 x 1654)

Red-Tailed Black-Cockatoo - Calyptorhynchus banksii
Artwork: John Gould, 'The Birds of Australia', 1848. Original Scanned Image.

Some Birdwatching Resources

Common Birds of Australia (Green Guide), Peter Rowland. A smaller, more introductory book. It won a Whitley Award for best zoological book. The publishers say "This book provides an introduction to the major bird groups, with an emphasis on those that the amateur naturalist and nature-lover is most likely to see. The book is organized into six sections which cover birds of prey, waders and waterbirds, seabirds, songbirds, pigeons and parrots and other birds. Information is organized simply, with individual species or group entries describing key characteristics — where they are found, food requirements and behavioural habits. Each entry is accompanied by a colour photograph and, where appropriate, distribution maps. A key feature of the text is the "gee whiz" spreads which answer many of the most commonly asked questions about why birds do what they do, revealing facts and providing practical information for the amateur enthusiast. In addition, fact panels interspersed throughout highlight surprising snippets of information.

Click here to purchase from Australia $16.99 AUD

The Kamana Naturalist Training Program.The Kamana program by Jon Young, founder of Wilderness Awareness School, is an awesome correspondence course teaching naturalist knowledge of your area including birds and bird language. If you want to learn the birds and other animals so that you really feel that you know them, I highly recommend this course, which I am studying myself.