Gang-gang Cockatoo
Callocephalon fimbriatum
Small and compact cockatoo found only in southeastern Australia. Primarily scaly gray-green; adult male has bright red ‘helmet’ and fluffy crest. Typically moves to higher altitudes during summer and returns to lower ranges in winter. Gives a loud creaking door hinge call.
Identification
The gang-gang cockatoo is 32–37 cm (13–15 in) in length with a 62–76 cm (24–30 in) wingspan, and weighs 230–334 grams. They are grey birds with wispy crests. The head and crest is bright red in males, but dark grey in females. The edges of feathers in underparts have edges of yellow or pink. The edges of feathers on upperarts are slightly paler grey than the rest of the feather, which makes the bird look somewhat barred. Juvenile males can be distinguished by their brighter crowns and shorter crests, but otherwise look similar to the adult female. The birds are not easily mistaken for other cockatoos, but while in flight may resemble the Galah. Gang-gangs are very social birds, but not overly noisy.
Taxonomy
In 1803 the British Royal Navy officer James Grant included an illustration of the gang-gang cockatoo in his book describing a voyage to the colony of New South Wales in Australia. Grant coined the binomial name Psittacus fimbriatus. The gang-gang cockatoo is now the only species placed in the genus Callocephalon that was introduced in 1837 by the French naturalist René Lesson. The type locality is the Bass River in the state of Victoria. The specific epithet is from Latin fimbriata meaning "fringed". The genus name combines the Ancient Greek kallos meaning "beauty" and kephalē meaning "head". The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.<p>The classification of the gang-gang cockatoo has always been controversial due to the unusual appearance and coloration of the bird, especially its sexual dichromatism. The gang-gang cockatoo was thought to be a distinctive early offshoot of the Calyptorhynchinae (black) cockatoos. However, more recent molecular phylogenetic analysis places it in the Cacatuinae clade, not the Calyptorhynchinae, and having diverged from the palm cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus).
- Scientific name
- Callocephalon fimbriatum
- Authority
- (Grant, J, 1803)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Cacatuidae
- Genus
- Callocephalon
Range and habitat
Gang-gangs are endemic to coastal regions of south-eastern Australia. They used to inhabit King Island off of Tasmania, but have become extinct there. They are an introduced species on Kangaroo Island. Gang-gangs prefer forests and woodlands in the mountains, with dense shrub understories. They migrate short distances during winter into more open habitats, but must migrate back to denser forests to breed, because they need tall trees in order to build nests.
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Behavior
Unlike most other cockatoos, gang-gangs nest in young, solid trees, they often nest near water. The females using their strong beaks to excavate nesting cavities. Gang-gangs are monogamous. The breeding season lasts from spring to summer. The birds will lay 2-3 white eggs, the incubation period is 4 weeks and both sexes take care of the young.<p>They forage in canopies mostly feed on the flowers and buds of eucalypts, with other sources of food coming from berries, cones and wattle flowers.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Venezuelan Bristle-Tyrant
Pogonotriccus venezuelanus
Small olive-yellow flycatcher with black ear patch, gray crown, pinkish lower mandible, and bold, contrasting yellowish wing bars. Sexes similar. Found alone or in pairs, usually at medium to high levels in forest. Occurs in mature humid forest of montane regions. Voice a fast and descending trill “trrrrrr tzee tzee tzee tzee…” Distinguished from Marble-faced Bristle-Tyrant by contrasting black wing coverts and bold yellowish wingbars, pinkish (not gray) lower mandible, and cleaner face. Endemic to the Coastal Cordillera of Venezuela.
Nihoa Finch
Telespiza ultima
A finch-billed Hawaiian honeycreeper endemic to the island of Nihoa; does not occur on the main Hawaiian Islands. Unlikely to be confused with any other species; the only other passerine bird on Nihoa is the Millerbird, which lacks the Nihoa Finch’s heavy bill. Males have a bright yellow head and breast. Females are paler yellow and heavily streaked on the back. Common throughout the island.
Red-necked Aracari
Pteroglossus bitorquatus
Medium-sized toucan with a red rump, nape, and breast band; green wings and tail; and a yellow belly. The lower mandible is black in the eastern subspecies, variably white and black in the western subspecies. Inhabits the canopy of humid lowland forest, second growth, and gallery forests, where it forages in pairs or small groups. The common call is a series of “tik” notes. Also gives a series of unmusical “tweah” calls.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.