Red-tailed black cockatoo

Red-tailed Black Cockatoo
Scientific classification
Kingdom Information
Domain	Eukaryota
Kingdom	Animalia
Subkingdom	Bilateria
Branch	Deuterostomia
Phylum Information
Phylum	Chordata
Sub-phylum	Vertebrata
Infraphylum	Gnathostomata
Class Information
Superclass	Tetrapoda
Class	Aves
Sub-class	Neornithes
Infra-class	Neoaves
Order Information
Superorder	Psittacimorphae
Order	Psittaciformes
Family Information
Family	Cacatuidae
Sub-family	Calyptorhynchinae
Genus Information
Genus	Calyptorhynchus
Subgenus	Calyptorhynchus
Species Information
Species	C. banksii
Population statistics
Population	Unknown (2016 est.)
Conservation status	Least concern

The red-tailed or Banks' black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus banksii) is a species of parrot of the family Cacatuidae, and found throughout much of Australia. First described by western science in 1790, it was named for English botanist Sir Joseph Banks.

Description

Red-tailed black cockatoos are among the larger species of parrots, with a body length of 24 inches, a wingspan of up to 43.3 inches, and weigh from 1.25 to 2 pounds. Females are slightly smaller than males. Both sexes are all-black in color, with females distinctively-marked with thin yellow feather tips in the belly, small yellow spots above, and a light-gray colored beak. The four central tail feathers are all black, while the tail feathers on either side are red in color, thinly-banded in black, with the tips and base in black. Overall coloration varies slightly among the individual subspecies. Juvenile birds resemble females, with paler yellow coloration below, and a yellow tail; they won't wear adult plumage until the age of four years.

The call is described as a low-pitched, rolling "krrah", a sharp, shrill alarm call "krur-rak", and a slightly-higher pitched nasal "kred-kred-kred"

Subspecies

• Calyptorhynchus banksii banksii; northern Australia
• Calyptorhynchus banksii graptogyne; southeastern South Australia and southwestern Victoria
• Calyptorhynchus banksii macrorhynchus; northern Western Australia and Northern Territory
• Calyptorhynchus banksii naso; southwestern Australia
• Calyptorhynchus banksii samueli; west-central to east-central Australia

As with other cockatoos, the red-tailed black cockatoo is a social bird, usually in groups of three to eight birds, but rarely in larger flocks of up to 200. In the early morning, cockatoos go to a watering place, then scatter in search of food. By noon the birds are established within the tree canopy to escape from the scorching ; later in the evening they again go to feed. They spend the night in a group on top of a tree, most often not far from the water. In a wandering flock, one of the birds always plays the role of a "scout", keeping some distance from the rest of the group, looking for food or water. Having discovered the source, it will cry out to invite the others to join in.

Range and habitat

Red-tailed black cockatoos are found mainly in the north and northeast of Australia, with isolated populations within central and western Australia. It is found from dry acacia, eucalyptus, and sheoak woodlands to tropical forests near sources of water

Diet

Food is largely of the seeds of various eucalyptus trees; additionally they will eat corymbia and marri seeds, nuts, fruits, and the seeds of herbaceous plants. It may also feed on xylophagous insect larvae by plucking off pieces of rotten bark and examining the exposed wood. In northern Australia where the cockatoo is plentiful, it one of some forty parrot species considered an agricultural pest because it destroys corn, peanuts, field radish, watermelon, mustard, rice and wheat.

Reproduction

Breeding starts at the age of four to six years, with it taking place in the southern range from October to March, in the northern range from May to September,and in the west from July to October. In arid regions breeding is tied to the wettest and coldest time of the year, with one paper noting that in the area of ​​the "wheat belt" birds nested twice, with the second breeding during the hot and dry season. The mating behavior is similar to that of the yellow-tailed black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus), i.e. a caring male spreads its tail into a fan, ruffles the feathers of its head and opens its crest in such a way that it closes around its beak. In such a clumsy position, the male spins and jumps in front of the female, showing her the red tail feathers. The "defensive" ritual of the female pecking the male testifies to the formation of the pair. It is believed that the mating union is maintained during the life of both birds, and after the disappearance of one, the second remains without a partner until the end of its life.

It nests in the hollows of eucalyptus and other trees, more often in trees already dead. The hollow, which if possible has been used for several years in a row, is lined with wood dust; its depth can be up to nine feet, with a diameter of almost 2 feet. In the clutch, one or two eggs are laid, matte-white in color. Parents, as a rule, care about only one chick and the second quickly dies of hunger. The female incubates for 28–32 days, with the male feeding her twice a day. Chicks fledge at the age of 10-12 weeks, but stay near the parents who continue feeding them for several months.

Threats

The total population of this species is classified by the ICUN as "least concern"; however, two individual subspecies - C. b. naso and C. b. graptogyne, - have been classified as "vulnerable" and "endangered", respectively. C. b. graptogyne, is heavily dependent on three types of tree within its range (Eucalyptus sp.); felling these trees for agriculture has reduced the subspecies' population to some 1,000 individual birds. In areas where they are abundant to the point of being a pest, laws were put in place to license land owners to cull problem birds under certain restrictions. In Queensland for example, the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection bans cockatoo shooting without a license, which can only be issued to farmers suffering from an invasion of birds, and only in relation to eradicating the "scout" birds.

Another threat is the pet trade. Currently it is listed in Appendix II of CITES; despite this a black market is actively and illegally exporting these birds overseas, the rarity of them commanding high prices, as much as $40,000 in the United States.