About the White Cockatoo
The white cockatoo, also known as the umbrella cockatoo, is a medium-sized all-white cockatoo endemic to tropical rainforest on islands of Indonesia. When surprised, it extends a large and striking head crest, which has a semicircular shape. The wings and tail have a pale yellow or lemon color which is exposed when they fly. It is similar to other species of white cockatoo such as yellow-crested cockatoo, sulphur-crested cockatoo, and salmon-crested cockatoo, all of which have yellow, orange or pink crest feathers instead of white.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
The white cockatoo is around 46 cm (18 in) long, and weighs about 400 g (14 oz) for small females and up to 800 g (28 oz) for big males. The male white cockatoo usually has a broader head and a bigger beak than the female. They have brown or black eyes and a dark grey beak. When mature some female white cockatoos can have reddish/brown irises, while the irises of the adult male are dark brown or black. The feathers of the white cockatoo are mostly white. However, both upper and lower surfaces of the inner half of the trailing edge of the large wing feathers are a yellow color.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in United States, Taiwan, Guadeloupe, Germany, Réunion, France.
When to see it
Peak activity in May · a resident species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Salmon-crested CockatooCacatua moluccensisThe salmon-crested cockatoo, also known as the Moluccan cockatoo, is a cockatoo endemic to the Seram archipelago in eastern Indonesia.
Blue-eyed CockatooCacatua ophthalmicaThe blue-eyed cockatoo is a large, about 50-cm-long, mainly white cockatoo with an erectile yellow and white crest, a black beak, dark grey legs, and a light blue rim of featherless skin around each eye, that gives this species its name.
Red-vented CockatooCacatua haematuropygiaThe red-vented cockatoo, also known as the Philippine cockatoo and locally katala, abukay, agay, or kalangay, is a species of cockatoo.
Learn the White Cockatoo for real
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