Bird Guide

Pink Cockatoo vs Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Pink Cockatoo (Cacatua leadbeateri)

Pink Cockatoo

Cacatua leadbeateri

Large397 gShrubland

The pink cockatoo has a soft-textured white and salmon-pink plumage and large, bright red and yellow crest. Its former name referenced Major Thomas Mitchell, who wrote, "Few birds more enliven the monotonous hues of the Australian forest than this beautiful species whose pink-coloured wings and flowing crest might have embellished the air of a more voluptuous region." Pink cockatoo females and males are almost identical. The males are usually bigger. The female has a broader yellow stripe on the crest and develops a red eye when mature.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita)

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Cacatua galerita

Large720 gForest

Sulphur-crested cockatoos are 44–55 cm (17.5–21.5 in) long, with the Australian subspecies larger than subspecies from New Guinea and nearby islands. The plumage is overall white, while the underwing and -tail are tinged yellow. The expressive crest is yellow. The bill is black, the legs are grey, and the eye-ring is whitish. Males typically have almost black eyes, whereas the females have a more red or brown eye, but this requires optimum viewing conditions to be seen. The differences between the subspecies are subtle. C. g.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K · CC BY 2.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Pink Cockatoo and Sulphur-crested Cockatoo.