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Red-tailed Black Cockatoo - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by tcollins
Darwin, Australia, July 2006
Calyptorhynchus banksii

Identification

50–65 cm (19¾-25½ in)

  • Black overall plumage
  • Red tail bands

Females

  • Brownish-black overall plumage
  • Yellow bars and spots
  • Yellowish-orange tail stripes

Distribution

Female
Photo © by peterday
Kakadu, Australia, May 2015

Australia: found in New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Juvenile
Photo © by Doc Duck
near Buffalo Creek, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, August 2018

There are 5 subspecies[1]:

  • C. b. naso:
  • Forests of south-western Western Australia
  • C. b. escondidus:
  • Western Australia (arid and semi-arid zones of Western Australia south of the Kimberley)
  • C. b. banksii:
  • Tropical northern Australia (northeastern Western Australia east to eastern Queensland and northeastern New South Wales)
  • C. b. samueli:
  • central Australia (southern Northern Territory, northern South Australia, southwestern Queensland, and central New South Wales)
  • C. b. graptogyne:

Habitat

Tropical forests; eucalyptus woodlands near water, shrub and grassland.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet consists of a variety of eucalyptus seeds, berries, fruits, insects and grubs.

Breeding

Male in front, female behind
Photo © by Peter Merritt
Australia, 2016

They build their nests in large, vertical tree cavities. The clutch consists of 1 to 2 white eggs, however usually only 1 survives to fledging.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Avibase
  3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved June 2015)
  4. Wikipedia

Recommended Citation

External Links


GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

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