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Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

 (Zanda funerea)

Also known as: Black Cockatoo, Funereal Cockatoo, Yellow-eared Cockatoo, Yellow-eared Black Cockatoo, Yellow-tailed Cockatoo, Wylah

Click photo to visit gallery

Wild Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
© Francesco Veronesi [CC BY-SA 2.0] via Wikimedia Commons

Did You Know?

The Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo will brace itself "woodpecker fashion" with their tails while looking for grubs and larvae. They will also perch on a "chopping platform" gouged out from the trunk of a tree.

Academic Research

Related publications: Zanda funerea

Species Profile

Genus: Zanda | Species: funerea

Size:

67cm (26.1 in)

Weight:

750-900g (26.2-31.5 oz)

Subspecies including nominate:

two: Z.f. funerea, Z.f. xanthanotus

Colour Adult:

Z.f. funerea: Male-in general brown/black, with feathers finely margined dull yellow; soft yellow ear-coverts; side tail feathers have wide yellow band near tip spotted with brown/black.  Bill slate grey. Eye ring pink, eye dark brown.  Female-ear coverts bright yellow; tail band more heavily spotted brown/black.  Bill horn in colour. Eye ring grey.
Z.f. xanthanotus: Both adults as in funereus but with significantly shorter tail; little brown spotting in yellow tail band, sometimes missing in male; smaller in size.

Colour Juvenile:

As in female.

Call:

In flight a loud unusual lengthy whistle. Also emits harsh alarm notes. Young birds emit a constant harsh raspy call.

Listen Now

Video Links:

Video 1 | Video 2

More Information:

Avibase

Content Sources:

CITES
BirdLife International
Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Birds of the World
A Guide to Parrots of the World, Juniper and Parr, 1998
ML Media Collection Catalogue 4062, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus funereus, Loetscher, Fred W., Jr., Tasmania, Australia, Mar. 17 1969, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Site
Parrots of the World, Forshaw and Cooper, 1989. 2010 edition
Parrots of the World, Forshaw, 2006.
Parrots in Aviculture, Low, 1992.
Guide to Incubation and Handraising Parrots, Digney, 1998.

Click photo to visit gallery

Wild Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
© Francesco Veronesi [CC BY-SA 2.0] via Wikimedia Commons

Did You Know?

The Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo will brace itself "woodpecker fashion" with their tails while looking for grubs and larvae. They will also perch on a "chopping platform" gouged out from the trunk of a tree.

Academic Research

Related publications: Zanda funerea

Species Care

Captive Status:

Rare in Australia, very rare outside.

Longevity:

May live up to 50 yrs.

Housing:

Walk-in enclosure, minimum length 7m (23 ft).

Diet:

Nuts including: walnuts, almonds and pine nuts; sunflower seeds, wheat, maize and fresh corn; fresh fruit and green leaves sometimes accepted; peas in the pod; in Australia Banksia and Hakia nuts; complete kibble; when rearing young provide mealworms.

Enrichment:

Are avid chewers so provide with lots of bird-safe wood (fir, pine, Eucalypt, etc), wood blocks, and vegetable tanned leather chew toys.

Nest Box Size:

Open at the top 24" x 24" x 48" (61cm x 61cm x 122cm) vertical box. Provide with branches to provoke chewing and breeding behaviour.

Clutch Size:

1 or 2

Incubation Time:

29 days

Fledging Age:

12-13 weeks

Hatch Weight:

About 29g (1 oz)

Peak Weight:

870g (30.5 oz)

Weaning Weight:

Around 865g (30.2 oz)

Click photo to visit gallery

Wild Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
© Francesco Veronesi [CC BY-SA 2.0] via Wikimedia Commons

Did You Know?

The Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo will brace itself "woodpecker fashion" with their tails while looking for grubs and larvae. They will also perch on a "chopping platform" gouged out from the trunk of a tree.

Academic Research

Related publications: Zanda funerea

Species Wild Status

World Population:

About 25,000, stable.

IUCN Red List Status:

Least Concern

CITES Listing:

Appendix II

Threat Summary:

Not globally threatened. Their long-term existence depends on the continued availability of hollow trees for nesting. No race is currently considered to be threatened, and all seem to have adapted to recent alterations in their habitat, namely eucalypt and pine plantations. Is declining in some areas (Eyre Peninsula) but in general population is stable.

Range:

Z.f. funerea: CE and SE Australia from C Queensland south to E Victoria, then west.
Z.f. xanthanotus: Tasmania and SE mainland Australia from C Victoria west to SE South Australia, including Kangaroo Island.

Habitat:

Found in higher rainfall habitat such as coastal areas, Eucalyptus woodlands, pine plantations, heathland, orchards and farmland.

Wild Diet:

Eats seeds of pines, Eucalyptus, Hakea, Casuarina, Banksia and Acacia. Also takes fungus from seed cases and wood-boring larvae which are removed from trunks or roots of trees.

Ecology and Behaviour:

Is reliant on Eucalyptus woodland for breeding; is nomadic, will move between hills and coastland in response to breeding season. Are encountered in large flocks of 300 birds or more; is noisy and conspicuous.

Clutch and Egg Size:

1 or 2 ovate eggs, 50.0 x 34.5mm (2 x 1.3 in).

Breeding Season:

April-July, N Australia; January-May, N New South Wales; December-February, S New South Wales; October–March, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. Nest is bed of chips in large tree hollow.

Related Links:

Wikipedia
Article: Rare birds: project tracks will Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos for the first time

Click photo to visit gallery

Wild Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
© Francesco Veronesi [CC BY-SA 2.0] via Wikimedia Commons

Did You Know?

The Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo will brace itself "woodpecker fashion" with their tails while looking for grubs and larvae. They will also perch on a "chopping platform" gouged out from the trunk of a tree.

Academic Research

Related publications: Zanda funerea

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