MOLUCCAN COCKATOO

ORDER

Psittaciformes

FAMILY

Cacatuidae

HABITAT AND RANGE

Lowland forests on the Moluccan Islands in eastern Indonesia. It has a stronghold in Manusela National Park on the island of Seram.

IDENTIFICATION

At over 20 inches and weighing roughly 35 oz., it is the largest of the white cockatoos. The female is larger than the males on average. It has white-pink feathers with a definite peachy glow, a slight yellow on the underwing and underside of the tail feathers and a large retractable recumbent crest which it raises when threatened, revealing hitherto concealed bright red-orange plumes to frighten potential attackers (may also be raised in excitement, or other 'emotional' displays). It also has one of the louder calls in the parrot world and in captivity is a capable mimic.

DIET

The diet consists mainly of seeds, nuts and fruit, as well as coconuts.

REPRODUCTION AND LIFESPAN

Moluccan cockatoos mate for life and breed year round. Normal clutch size is two eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs for 28 days until hatching. Moluccan cockatoos can live over 70 years.

NOTES

The Moluccan Cockatoo is an endangered species. Numbers have declined due to illegal trapping for the cage-bird trade and habitat loss. During the height of the trapping of this species over 6,000 birds were being removed from the wild per year. Now only about 2000 exist in the wild. Despite their protected status, illegal trapping continues to this day. Moluccan Cockatoos are probably the loudest parrot in the pet parrot trade. The Moluccan Cockatoo is widely considered to be the one of the most demanding parrots to keep as a pet, due to their high intelligence, large size, potential noise level, and need to chew. Also called the salmon-crested cockatoo due to their red-orange head adornment.