

They should be encouraged to eat dark green leaves such as spinach and dandelion. Favoured vegetables including carrot, celery, green peas and beans and fresh corn on the cob. During cold weather, warm cooked peas are relished. Corn on the cob and peas in the pod are favourites. Sunflower seed (preferably soaked and sprouted sunflower), also spray millet. A mixture of small seeds should include plenty of small seeds such as canary, white millet, safflower, oats, buckwheat and a little hemp, to help keep them occupied. The basic diet should consist of seed, cooked or sprouted beans and pulses and fresh fruits and vegetables. This is a smaller cockatoo and they are sometimes referred to as the apartment-sized. A Cockatoo that cannot gnaw is a very frustrated bird. They can learn to speak and are easy to teach all kinds of tricks. Apple, hazel and thick branches of willow are very good for this purpose. I cannot overstate the fact that to keep these birds busy and to prevent them from destroying items in the home, the aviary or the nest-box, a frequent and regular supply of fresh wood is essential. Click here for lots of fun Cockatoo toys. However, they never tire of destroying wood. Some of the toys devised to test Parrot intelligence and skills might keep them busy for a while but they are so observant and such quick learners that possibly they would soon tire of them. It is an enormous challenge to keep them occupied and contented. These are super-intelligent birds - especially the Australian Greater.

See Moluccan Cockatoo for further information on this subject. Expect to devote as much time to them as you would to a human companion. Most of those offered for sale are hand-reared young. However, captive breeding of cockatoos has declined in recent years. The Triton and Eleonora Cockatoos are quite well established in Europe and the USA.
Sulfur vs yellow cockatoo skin#
Export was permitted from New Zealand because it is not a native species. A key difference between them is one has bare, white skin around the eye while the other has a bluish eye ring. It is too familiar in most areas to be sought as a pet. The Greater Sulphur-crested Cockatoo is rarely available in Europe and the USA but is of course readily available in Australia where most captive birds are probably rescued chicks or fledglings. Triton Cockatoos originate from New Guinea and some of its offshore islands.Įleonora’s Cockatoos are found in the Aru group of islands in the southern Moluccas. There are thriving introduced populations in south-western Australia and in New Zealand. Greater Sulphur-crested: Australia, eastern and south-eastern areas from northern Queensland south to Tasmania, also coastal regions of the Northern Territory and the northern part of Western Australia. Triton and Eleonora: heavy trapping before and during the 1980s and continued illegal trapping has caused serious declines on some islands and lesser declines throughout much of the range. They leave the nest at the age of about eleven weeks. Like any great gym session, Captain is rewarded with his favourite treats, such as walnuts, brazil nuts or sunflower seeds.Differ from adults in having the iris grey and a pinkish tinge to the bare skin of the cere. The keepers encourage him to climb, hang or roll over the rope as this builds strength in his legs and increases his agility. Like something you may see at your local Crossfit gym, our keepers use a large rope to help Captain train. This encourages Captain to manipulate objects with his beak and feet to extract food – just like he would in the wild! Crossfit - cockatoo style Keepers will often hide his food inside pinecones or cabbage leaf parcels. Don't play with your food!Ĭaptain has a varied diet of seeds, fruits and berries, nuts, flowers, leaf buds, roots and insects. This is very important as cockatoos’ beaks never stop growing! This constant activity helps to keep his beak, and tree stump, in great condition. Like the ultimate DIYer, Captain spends a lot of his time making modifications to his home with his strong beak. Breed Overview Common Names: Sulphur-crested cockatoo, greater sulphur-crested cockatoo Scientific Name: Cacatua galerita Adult Size: The largest subspecies ( C. But don’t be surprised if you only catch a glimpse of his white and yellow feathers on the top of his head. but he could be anywhere between 30 and 80 years old! Some sulphur crested cockatoos can even live to be 100 years old.ĭuring the day, you will spot Captain hanging out in his large tree stump outside the Australia aviaries.

He was donated in 1990, and although he likes to talk and mimic keeper voices, he has never told us how old he is. Captain is the resident sulphur-crested cockatoo at Auckland Zoo.
