ParrotsAustralian Ringnecks Bluebonnet Bourke’s Parrot Budgerigar Cockatiel Galah Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo Mallee Ringneck Mulga Parrot Port Lincoln Ringneck Purple-crowned Lorikeet Rainbow Lorikeet Red-collared Lorikeet Red-tailed Black Cockatoo Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
The Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo (Zanda funerea) is easily identified by yellow cheek patch and yellow panels on the tail, against the brownish-black plumage. Whilst most of the body feathers are edged with yellow, they are not visible at a distance.
A large cockatoo, they have a short crest on the top of the head. The male has pink eye-ring, whilst the female has pale grey eye-ring and a larger yellow cheek patch. Another difference is in the bill grey-black in male and a upper white bill in the female. Also, unlike the male cockatoo, the female has black marks in the yellow tail panels. Juvenile birds are similar to the adult female, except for the young male who have a smaller cheek patch.
Native to the south-east of Australia, the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo are found in temperate forests areas across south and central-eastern Queensland through to south-eastern South Australia. Their preferred habitat are eucalypt woodland and pine plantations.
When in flight, the yellow-tailed black cockatoo has a deep and slow flap, with a heavy fluid motion. Their loud, wailing calls carry for long distances.
The Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo have a long breeding season, that varies throughout their range. They build the nest in a large tree hollow, where the female incubates the eggs, whilst the male supplies her with food. The chicks stay in the care of the parents for about six months. With the fragmentation of their habitats and loss of suitable trees for nesting, there has been a decline of the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo.
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Aves
- Order: Psittaciformes
- Family: Cacatuidae
- Genus: Zanda
- Species: Z. funerea
- Binomial name: Zanda funerea
Footnote & References
- Yellow-tailed black cockatoo, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-tailed_black_cockatoo (last visited Aug. 8, 2021).
- Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo, BirdLife Australia, https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/yellow-tailed-black-cockatoo
ParrotsAustralian Ringnecks Bluebonnet Bourke’s Parrot Budgerigar Cockatiel Galah Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo Mallee Ringneck Mulga Parrot Port Lincoln Ringneck Purple-crowned Lorikeet Rainbow Lorikeet Red-collared Lorikeet Red-tailed Black Cockatoo Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo