The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, with its bright yellow crest is known for its raucous squark. It can sometimes be confused with the equally noisy, and similar in habit, Long-billed Corella. It has adapted well to the altered landscapes of urban and rural areas. It feeds on nuts, cones, buds of trees, bulbs of onion weed, freshly sown crops and insect larvae.

It can be found in pairs and small flocks, occasionally numbering in the hundreds. It nests in the hollows found in dead and living trees, on a bed of decaying debris. It lays two to three white oval eggs. The beak which continues to grow throughout the life of the bird, is kept short by chewing cones and other woody features such as timber decks and walls, especially those made from western red cedar.

Size: 44-51cm

Photo: Mark Trinham. Illustration: Mark Trinham.