Many cockatoos have long life-spans so they are a long-term commitment. They love attention and will not do well without lots of it – every day. They can be picky eaters and are almost always messy. They can learn to do tricks if you train them properly. Though they are intelligent birds they will usually not learn as many words as a parrot might. Their screech is likely to annoy your neighbors if you live in an apartment or condo. It is important to familiarize yourself with cockatoos before attempting to own one. You then need to provide a large cage or aviary, lots of toys for chewing, a varied and healthy diet, plus at least annual trips to an avian veterinarian. They can be an expensive pet because the purchase price is only the beginning. As more are bred and hand-raised in aviaries they may become more available. If you do, they often cost $2,000 or more. Outside of Australia the odds are slim that you will be able to find one. It will be difficult to secure one of these birds as a pet but it is possible in Australia. A Few things to consider before buying a gang-gang cockatoo Extreme feather plucking is a common problem. When they’re bored they become destructive to property and even to their selves. They have not had a good track record as a pet because they get bored easily if they don’t get a lot of attention. In many cases they do not breed well in captivity. To preserve this species it is important that all of the Gang-gang cockatoos of breeding age are allowed to flourish in the wild or are kept in programs that have success with breeding and caring for these birds. When these forests are destroyed for the sake of development it endangers all the birds that need this environment to survive. They need forests with tall trees to make nests and to find seeds and nuts to eat. Threatsĭestruction of its natural habitat is one of the biggest threats to the Gang-gang cockatoo. Parents feed the chicks in the nest for six to eight weeks. There are usually two eggs in a clutch and both the male and the female incubate the eggs. The female will use her strong beak to make a cavity in a live tree.
Unlike other cockatoos the tree does not have to be hollow. Like many other cockatoos they build nests in tall eucalyptus trees and then line the nest with wood chips. The gang-gang cockatoos breeds between October and January.
Under optimal conditions the gang-gang cockatoo can live up to fifty years or more. They also enjoy cotoneaster and pyracantha berries. They are one of the only birds that eat saw fly larvae and will eat an entire group of grubs at one time. They will also eat insects and insect larvae. They eat mainly seeds from the eucalyptus and acacias trees as well as some other plant material. Their call has been compared to a creaking gate and they make a growling noise when they eat. They stay mostly in trees but come down to find water and to forage for nuts and berries on the ground.
They seem to prefer cooler temperatures and a wetter climate. In the winter they reside in forests and woodlands and in the summer they move to higher altitudes to dense mountain forests. It’s not unusual to see the gang-gang cockatoo in the gardens of the city of Canberra. They usually stay in family groups in summer but in winter will often flock together as they forage for food. They are stocky with a wide wing span and short tail feathers. The plumage on the body of both male and female is slate gray.Īs adults these birds are about fourteen inches long and weigh around eight or nine ounces. The females do not share this distinctive appearance and their head feathers are gray. It is one of only two cockatoos that has red on its head the other being Major Mitchell’s cockatoo. This is only true of the male of this species, though. Its crest is also red and made of wispy feathers. The prominent feature of this bird is the red feathers on its head. Their appearance is so iconic that they are used on an emblem by the A.C.T. These birds are native to south-eastern Australia. The scientific name is Callocephalon fimbriatum. The gang-gang cockatoo is also known as the red-headed cockatoo, the helmeted cockatoo, and the red-crowned cockatoo. A Few things to consider before buying a gang-gang cockatoo.