The Cockatoo,
is a bird belonging to the parrot family found in Australia, New
Guinea, and some adjacent islands. They are about 40-65 cm (16-26
inches) in length. All have powerful beaks; that of the palm
cockatoo is exceptionally powerful and is used for opening large
nuts.
The eighteen species of
cockatoo are basically either black, like the red-tailed cockatoo,
or white, like the sulphur-crested cockatoo, though a few are pink
like the galah.
The galah is grey above with deep
pink underneath and a pale pink crown; all have erectile crests.
Cockatoos are noisy, and live in groups ranging from a few to a
large number of birds. They feed primarily on seeds, and the galah
and the little corella sometimes do considerable damage to grain and
rice crops.
They nest in large holes in trees,
laying two to three round white eggs. In captivity many of them live
a very long time: fifty to sixty years having been recorded.
