Birds › Australian bush › Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Cacatua galerita

Sydney cockatoos have learned to flip open the lids of wheelie bins to look for food, and the trick has spread from suburb to suburb.

Where to see it for real: Big old trees with hollows are its homes, and a wild cockatoo can live for decades.

Spot it in the game

Lives in the Australian bush habitat (Eastern Australia, among gum trees).

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo facts

Family

Cockatoos

Length

19 in (48 cm)

Weight

31 oz (880 g)

Diet

Seeds, nuts, roots, berries and insect grubs.

Range

Northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea and nearby islands; introduced to New Zealand.

Nest

A hollow high in a big old tree, lined with wood chips.

Song

An ear-splitting, raucous screech.

Active

at dawn, by day and at dusk

Status

Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: widespread and not at risk.

What the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo sounds like

How to attract the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Feeder foods, favorite first: sunflower seed, peanuts. Feeders that hold them: tube feeder and platform feeder. Keep a bird bath full, too.

In the game: fill a feeder with sunflower seed and peanuts and keep the bird bath full. It is a common visitor.

More: bird songs and calls, what to feed birds.

More birds of the Australian bush

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