Yellow-crested Cockatoo
Cacatua sulphurea
A medium-sized white cockatoo with a yellow crest; rare and endangered throughout its native range but has several strong naturalized populations across Asia. Raucous and social, usually seen in large flocks flying noisily over forested areas. Noticeably smaller than the similarly-colored Sulphur-crested Cockatoo; no natural range overlap, but the two coexist in parts of their introduced range, such as Singapore.
Taxonomy
In the 18th century, yellow-crested cockatoos were imported into Europe as pets and these birds were described by various naturalists. In 1738 English naturalist Eleazar Albin included a description and illustration of the "Cockatoo or White crested parrot" in his A Natural History of Birds based on a bird displayed at "The Tiger" tavern on Tower Hill in London. In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included "Le Kakatoes à hupe jaune" in his Onithologie based on a live bird that he had seen in Paris. Then in 1764, George Edwards included the "Lesser white cockatoo with a yellow crest" in his Gleanings of natural history from a pet bird kept at a home in Essex, and in 1779 French polymath Comte de Buffon included the bird in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux.<p>When the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin revised and expanded Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae in 1788 he included the yellow-crested cockatoo based on the accounts of earlier naturalists. He placed it with the parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus sulphureus. The type locality is the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The yellow-crested cockatoo is now one of 11 species placed in the genus Cacatua that was introduced in 1817 by Louis Pierre Vieillot.<p>According to the International Ornithological Congress, 5 subspecies are recognized:<p>Previously, only 4 of these were recognized, but djampeana and occidentalis were recognized in 2022 based on a 2014 phylogenetic study. The subspecies paulandrewi, thought to be endemic to the Tukangbesi Islands and also recognized in the 2014 study, is not recognized by the IOC.<p>Until 2023, the citron-crested cockatoo (Cacatua citrinocristata) was considered by the IOC to be a subspecies of yellow-crested cockatoo.
- Scientific name
- Cacatua sulphurea
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1788)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Cacatuidae
- Genus
- Cacatua
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
The yellow-crested cockatoo is critically endangered. Numbers have declined dramatically due to illegal trapping for the cage-bird trade. Between 1980 and 1992, over 100,000 of these birds were legally exported from Indonesia, yet a German proposal submitted to CITES to move it to Appendix I was not approved. It has since been moved to Appendix I. The current population is estimated at fewer than 2,500 individuals and is thought to be declining in number.<p>The subspecies C. s. abbotti is found only on the island of Masakambing. Its population on this tiny island (about 5 km2 or 1.9 mi2) had fallen to 10 as of June and July 2008. The decline results from trapping and logging, especially of mangroves (Avicennia apiculata) and kapok trees.<p>Several national parks their habitat, including Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park on Sulawesi, Komodo National Park on Komodo Island, the national parks of Manupeu Tanah Daru and Laiwangi Wanggameti on Sumba, and the Nino Konis Santana National Park in East Timor (Timor-Leste).
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Sulu Jungle Flycatcher
Cyornis ocularis
Little-known and seemingly uncommon flycatcher of the Sulu Archipelago from Jolo south to Tawitawi. Drab brown overall, with a long slender bill; note pale throat and belly with diffusely dusky chest, as well as rufous tail. Inhabits lowland and foothill forests, where it forays from a low perch in the understory or forest edge. Generally unobtrusive and difficult to spot in dark understory, but listen for its song, a disjointed series of well-spaced and high-pitched whistled notes. Formerly grouped with Philippine Jungle Flycatcher and Crocker Jungle Flycatcher under “Chestnut-tailed Jungle Flycatcher.”
Black-tailed Tityra
Tityra cayana
Large, chunky, short-tailed, and black-and-white species of the canopy in forests and second growth. Usually seen in pairs. Males are mostly white with a black head, tail, and wings. Note the red skin around the eyes and the black bill with a red base. Females are heavily streaked on the back, neck, and underparts with a brownish head and back. The song is a nasal croaking “guik.”
Sao Paulo Bristle-Tyrant
Pogonotriccus paulista
Tiny flycatcher with a slender tail not usually held cocked. Olive above and on the breast with a yellow throat and belly. The face is pale yellow with a broad dark crescent behind the eye and a yellow eyebrow. Found in the lower and middle levels of lowland humid forests and borders, where it forages very actively, usually in association with mixed-species flocks. Normally found at lower elevations than Oustalet's Tyrannulet. The song is a series of high-pitched frenetic whistles.
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