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

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

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Female
Photo by peterday
Kakadu, Australia, May 2015

There are 5 subspecies^[1]:

• C. b. banksii:

• Tropical northern Australia

• C. b. macrorhynchus:

• North-western Australia (northern Western Australia and Northern Territory)

• C. b. samueli:

• West-central to east-central Australia

• C. b. naso:

• Forests of south-western Australia

• C. b. graptogyne:

• Forests of south-eastern South Australia and south-western Victoria

Habitat

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

Behaviour

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

Diet

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

Breeding

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, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved June 2015)
4. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Red-tailed Black Cockatoo. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Red-tailed_Black_Cockatoo

External Links

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