White Cockatoo

Cacatua alba

Endangered · IUCN Red List

ENEndangeredSeedsForestCavity nestLarge · 570 g

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.

When to see the White Cockatoo

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 11 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.

Where to see the White Cockatoo

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 3 countries with regular records, and 6 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in United States, Taiwan, Guadeloupe, Germany, Réunion, France.

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.

Easily confused with

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