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- The best places to find and adopt a cockatoo
- The gear you need to make sure that your cockatoo settles in at home
- Feeding, grooming, and training tips to keep him healthy and happy
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Meet the Cockatoo
Cockatoos are loving, highly intelligent birds who form strong bonds with their owners. They demand and provide a great deal of affection. Your cockatoo can be a perfect companion as long as you provide him with the environment, diet, and healthcare he needs to thrive.
Appearance
Members of the family Cacatuidae, cockatoos are mostly white or black (except for a very few gray or pink types) and can range 12–26" (30–66 cm), depending on the species. Cockatoos also have crests of feathers on their heads that they display to express anger, excitement, or fear. These crests vary among species and can range from very small and barely noticeable to large and colorful.
Cockatoo Species
There are about 20 known species of cockatoo, but not all of them are commonly kept as pets. The following are some of the more popular cockatoo species available.
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Goffin’s (Cacatua goffini):
This bird is about 13" (32 cm) in length and is generally white with some pink feathers on the face and some yellow on the undersides of the flight and tail feathers. The beak is grayish white, and the crest is very small and white.
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Sulphur crested (Cacatua
galerita): The sulphur-crested cockatoo is typically about 20" (50 cm) in length. He is white with pale yellow feathers on his face, stronger yellow underneath the flight and tail feathers, and a dark gray beak. The crest is high and bright yellow, and it curves forward from the head.
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Lesser sulphur crested
(Cacatua sulphurea): This bird resembles the sulphur crested but is smaller—typically about 13" (33 cm). It has stronger yellow coloring on the face and the flight and tail feathers, as well as a darker beak.
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Moluccan (Cacatua
moluccensis): Also known as the salmon-crested cockatoo, this bird is about 20" (52 cm)
in length. He has a pale, salmon-pink color over most of his body, with deeper pink on the underside of the flight feathers. He also has some yellowish orange and deep pink on the undersides of the tail feathers. The crest is broad, curves backward from the head, and is deep pink on the underside. The bill is grayish black.
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Umbrella (Cacatua alba):
The umbrella cockatoo, also known as the white cockatoo, is about 18" (46 cm) in length. He is mostly white with some yellow on the undersides of the flight and tail feathers. The crest is broad and white, and it curves backward from the head. The beak is grayish black.
Temperament and Behavior
Cockatoos are perhaps best known for their loving nature. Almost all cockatoos are extremely intelligent, affectionate companions who love spending time with their owners— traits that make them excellent pets, provided you are willing and able to spend a great deal of time with your bird. An ignored or neglected cockatoo will quickly begin to exhibit problem behaviors, such as screaming and self-mutilation. If you can’t spend quality time with your bird on a daily basis, a cockatoo may not be for you.
Intelligence
Cockatoos have remarkable mechanical intelligence. Most parrots use their feet to hold food and other objects, but many of the cockatoo species are highly dexterous and use their feet in much the same way that humans use their hands. Cockatoos are superb at manipulating objects, and there are very few toys that they can’t figure out. The downside of this high intelligence is that cockatoos are notorious for escaping
confinement: they can break out of their cages or even disassemble them completely if given the opportunity.
Is Your Home Right for a Cockatoo?
Cockatoos are long-lived birds. With proper care, a cockatoo can live to be 50–70 years old. Before bringing a cockatoo into your home, you should be willing and able to care for him for many years—and make preparations to deal with the possibility that your bird might outlive you. As with any companion animal, a cockatoo requires a suitable environment in order to live a long, happy life. It’s up to you to keep your bird well fed, healthy, and safe.
Feather Dust
If you or someone in your home has allergies or an otherwise sensitive respiratory system, a cockatoo may not be a suitable addition to your family.
The cockatoo has powder down feathers, small white feathers that grow just beneath the down feathers that make up a bird’s fluffy undercoat. These feathers produce a very fine white dust that a cockatoo uses while grooming to coat the other feathers, helping to keep them clean.
Unfortunately, this dust will emanate from your bird when he ruffles and shakes his feathers, possibly triggering
allergies and also settling throughout your home and in your cockatoo’s cage.
Even if allergies aren’t a concern for anyone in your home, you will still need to bathe your bird and clean his cage (and any rooms in the house in which you let out your bird) more frequently than you would a less dusty bird. You can also use an air purifier near the cage to cut down on the dust, but there will still be some amount to contend with
in the cage and in your home. Keep this in mind if you’re planning to purchase a cockatoo.
| Text & Photos Copyright © 2007 TFH Publications, Inc. | Acknowledgments & Disclaimer |
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