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

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, Graham Pizzey and Frank Knight. This is the other of the two best bird field guides for Australia. It is the one preferred by many serious birdwatchers. However I find the pictures a bit dull looking for my taste — the birds all kind of look the same to me, making it harder to remember them in my mind. The illustrations are meant to be the most anatomically correct, though. The text descriptions are better than in Simpson and Day. If you want the most serious bird field guide get this one otherwise get Simpson and Day.

Purchase 9th ed. from Australia (Booktopia)

Purchase 9th ed. from Australia (Angus & Robertson)

Click here to purchase 9th ed. from Australia (The Nile)

Click here to purchase from Australia (Fishpond)

Click here to preorder the 9th ed. from Amazon

Field Guide to Australian Birds, by Michael Morcombe. This one has colour drawings of the eggs and the nests which not many other field guides do (I can't think of any that do). It's an excellent field guide and one of the four main ones (the other three being above this one). The weakness of this field guide is that some of the pictures of the birds aren't as good (or accurate) as the other three most used field guides. It's also the heaviest though there is a pocket edition which is much smaller and lighter.

Purchase from Australia (Booktopia)

Purchase from Australia (Angus & Robertson)

Content is copyright © Survival.org.au 2005-2026 All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use. Definitely read the disclaimer before trying anything from this website, especially including the practices and skills. This website uses affiliate links – this doesn't cost you any more, but I get a commission on purchases made through the website. As an Amazon Associate I earn similarly from qualifying purchases.