Endangered Palm Cockatoo

The palm cockatoo, also called the black palm cockatoo, is a large, stately parrot with dusky black plumage and a dramatic crest that spikes from its head like a Mohawk haircut. Its cheeks are highlighted by featherless patches of crimson skin that lighten if the bird is stressed. Palm cockatoos are not prolific breeders, and habitat destruction has put them at risk, but they are not as critically endangered as many other bird species.

  1. IUCN

    • As of 2011, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, IUCN, had last evaluated the palm cockatoo in 2009 and rated it as being endangered enough to place on the IUCN red list. However, the IUCN also listed it as a species of least concern. The palm cockatoo is native to Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, and the IUCN deemed this a sufficiently broad range that the birds were not in immediate danger of extinction. The IUCN has not been able to determine the number of palm cockatoos living in the wild, but sightings are fairly frequent.

    CITES

    • In 1987, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, CITES, moved the black palm cockatoo from Appendix II to Appendix I, which is the list reserved for the most endangered animals. As of 2011, the palm cockatoo remains listed. As an Appendix I species, the international commercial trade of black palm cockatoos is prohibited. They may still be traded for scientific purposes, but only with proper permits. CITES protection had decreased the threat palm cockatoos are under.

    Habitat

    • The greatest threat to palm cockatoos is a lack of suitable nesting sites. They live in rain forests and woodland locations where they nest in hollow trees. Because of the birds' size, they require large nesting spaces that can be found only in mature trees. In some places, new rain forest growth is taking over suitable habitat. In other locations, forest fires are destroying the large, old trees the birds prefer for nesting.

    Breeding

    • Even when a perfect nesting site is available, a pair of palm cockatoos raises only one chick per year. The egg requires a month or more to incubate. Once hatched, the chick remains in the nest for at least 100 days. When it finally does leave, it is not immediately able to fly and still depends on its parents for food. It remains with its parents until the next breeding season when they drive it away in order to raise a new chick. It takes 4 years for a palm cockatoo to reach maturity and begin raising its own young.