AY Honors/Parrots and Cockatoos/Answer Key

The Gang-gang Cockatoo, Callocephalon fimbriatum is found in the cooler and wetter forests and woodlands of Australia, particularly alpine bushland. Mostly mid grey in colour, the male has a red head and crest, while the female has a small fluffy grey crest. It ranges throughout south-eastern Australia and Tasmania. The Gang-gang Cockatoo is the faunal emblem of the Australian Capital Territory. It is easily identified by its distinctive call, which is described as resembling a creaky gate, or the sound of a cork being pulled from a wine bottle.

Gang-gang Cockatoos require solid tree trunks (in which they excavate nesting holes using their poweful bills) for nesting. Loss of habitat across south-eastern Australia through land clearing has led to a significant reduction in the numbers of this cockatoo in recent years.

External links

• ParrotScience - cockatoo heavy information site
• NSW National Parks & Wildlife - Proposed vulnerable species listing
• BirdLife Species Factsheet

References

• Flegg, Jim. Birds of Australia: Photographic Field Guide Sydney: Reed New Holland, 2002. (ISBN 1876334789)

Gallery

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  A female Gang-gang cockatoo eating peppercorns

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  Male Gang-gang cockatoo

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  Female Gang-gang cockatoo