Tribe Cacatuini: Four genera of white, pink and grey species.Palm Cockatoo, Probosciger aterrimus ( Gmelin, 1788).Tribe Microglossini: One genus with one species, the black Palm Cockatoo.Long-billed Black Cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus (Zanda) baudinii Lear, 1832.Short-billed Black Cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus (Zanda) latirostris Carnaby, 1948.Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus (Zanda) funereus ( Shaw, 1794).Subgenus Zanda – black-and-yellow/white cockatoos.Glossy Black Cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus (Calyptorhynchus) lathami ( Temminck, 1807).Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus (Calyptorhynchus) banksii ( Latham, 1790).Subgenus Calyptorhynchus – black-and-red cockatoos.Subfamily Calyptorhynchinae: The black cockatoos Cockatiel, Nymphicus hollandicus ( Kerr, 1792).The current subdivision of this family is as follows: Names in parentheses after generic names indicate subgenera. Species and subspecies A captive Sulphur-crested Cockatoo displaying its crest in USA Although fragmentary, the remains are similar to the Western Corella and the Galah. The fossil record of cockatoos is even more limited than that of parrots in general, with only one truly ancient cockatoo fossil known: a species of Cacatua, most probably subgenus Licmetis, found in Early Miocene (16–23 million years ago) deposits of Riversleigh, Australia. Subsequent molecular studies indicate that the earliest offshoot from the original parrot ancestors were the New Zealand parrots of the family Strigopidae, and following this the cockatoos, now a well-defined group or clade, split off from the remaining parrots, which then radiated across the southern hemisphere and diversified into the many species of parrots, parakeets, macaws, lories, lorikeets, lovebirds and other true parrots of the family Psittacidae. The American ornithologist James Lee Peters in his 1937 Check-list of Birds of the World, Sibley and Monroe in 1990 maintained it as a subfamily, while parrot expert Joseph Forshaw classified it as a family in 1973. This group has alternately been considered as either a full family or a subfamily by different authorities. The cockatoos were first defined as a subfamily Cacatuinae within the parrot family Psittacidae by the English naturalist George Robert Gray in 1840, with Cacatua the first listed and type genus. Several species have adapted well to human modified habitats and are found in agricultural areas and even busy cities. The Philippine Cockatoo inhabits mangroves. Other cockatoo species, such as the Glossy Black Cockatoo, inhabit woodlands, rainforests, shrublands and even forests with an alpine climate. The most widespread species, such as the Galah and Cockatiel, are open-country specialists that feed on grass seeds. However, no species is found in all types of habitat. Some species have widespread distributions, with the Galah, for example, occurring over most of Australia, whereas other species have tiny distributions, confined to a small part of the continent, such as the Long-billed Black Cockatoo of Western Australia or to a small island group, such as the Tanimbar Corella, which is restricted to the Tanimbar Islands of Indonesia.Ĭockatoos occupy a wide range of habitats, from forests in subalpine zones to mangroves. Three species occur in both New Guinea and Australia. Interestingly, no cockatoo species are found in Borneo (despite their presence on nearby Palawan and Sulawesi) or many Pacific islands, although fossil remains have been recorded from New Caledonia. Eleven of the 21 species exist in the wild only in Australia, while seven species occur only in the islands of the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. On average they are larger than other parrots however, the Cockatiel, the smallest cockatoo species, is a small bird.ĭistribution and habitat Ĭockatoos have a much more restricted range than the true parrots, occurring naturally only in Australasia. Their plumage is generally less colourful than that of other parrots, being mainly white, grey or black and often with coloured features in the crest, cheeks or tail. Ĭockatoos are recognisable by the showy crests and curved and strong bills. The name cockatoo comes from the Malay name for these birds, kaka(k)tua, via the Dutch kaketoe. Along with the Psittacoidea ( true parrots) and the Strigopoidea ( New Zealand parrots), they make up the order Psittaciformes (parrots). A cockatoo is any of the 21 species belonging to the bird family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea.
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