Palm Cockatoo - artificially incubated and hand raised - IMG_1626E
Distribution and habitat
The Palm Cockatoo is distributed in rainforests and woodlands of New Guinea island in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, and far northern Queensland, Australia. It can still be found wild and free on the branches of the trees along the road in Sorong, West Papua, Indonesia.
Flocking
This species normally does not appear in large numbers. They are not known to flock feed like many of the cockatoo species. Usually only one to six individuals will be observed feeding together at one time. As with other large birds both parents care for young so seeing a breeding pair is not unusual. If these birds do congregate it will usually happen in open woodland just after sunrise or along the rainforest edge before returning to individual roost for the night.
Calls
The Palm Cockatoo has a large and complex vocal repertoire, including many whistles and even a "hello" call that sounds surprisingly human-like.
There are distinct dialects throughout the species' range. It has a unique territorial display where the bird (typically the male) drums with a large (i.e. up to 1" diameter, 15 cm long) stick or seed-pod against a dead bough or tree, creating a loud noise that can be heard up to 100 m away. After drumming, the male occasionally strips the drum-tool into small pieces to line the nest.[citation needed]. Although this drumming behaviour was discovered over two decades ago (in 1984 by G.A. Wood), the reason why palm cockatoos drum is still a mystery. One reason could be that females can assess the durability of the nesting hollow by the resonance of the drumming. Another possibility could be that males drum to mark their territory against other males.[citation needed] The Palm Cockatoo is an unusual bird, being an ancient species and one of the few bird species known to use tools.
Breeding
Palm Cockatoos only lay one egg every second year and have one of the lowest breeding success rates reported for any species of parrot. Off-setting this is their very long life-span. A male commenced breeding at 29 in Taronga Zoo in Sydney, and a female at the London Zoo was 40 when she laid her first egg in 1966. There is anecdotal evidence of a Palm Cockatoo reaching 80 or 90 years of age in an Australian zoo, although the oldest confirmed individual was aged 56 in London Zoo in 2000. Although longevity of captive birds is known, it is still unknown how long palm cockatoos live in the wild. Breeding takes place inside tree hollows that look like standing pipes. Fires play an important role in the destruction and creation of nest hollows. Fires allow the colonisation of microorganisms and termites, which enter the tree and start hollowing out the inside. Cyclones are important in the final stage of nest hollow development.
Diet
The Palm Cockatoo is often observed feeding during the early hours of the day on a diet that consists mostly of wild growing Pandanus palm fruit and nuts from the Kanari tree, Canarium australasicum. They have also been seen eating fruit from Darwin Stringybark Eucalyptus tetradonta and Nonda tree as well as seeds from the Cocky apple tree, Beach almond and Black Bean tree.[5] In early captive situations pet owners would either feed dog kibble or generic bird seed mixture while zoos would give them "monkey biscuits." As their nutritional needs became more apparent over the years owners have shifted to specially formulated "manufactured diet" pellets along with a wide variety of treats like peanuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, oranges, apples, grapes, pomegranate, bananas, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, broccoli and kale. Many zoos will still give them monkey biscuits to broaden their diet.
Status
The Palm Cockatoo is still relatively common in Cape York, but is threatened there by habitat destruction, particularly due to bauxite mining around Weipa and altered fire regimes elsewhere. Palm Cockatoos are hunted in New Guinea. This species is in high demand for the pet trade due to its unusual appearance. The Palm Cockatoo is currently evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix I of CITES.
Palm Cockatoo - artificially incubated and hand raised - IMG_1626E
Distribution and habitat
The Palm Cockatoo is distributed in rainforests and woodlands of New Guinea island in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, and far northern Queensland, Australia. It can still be found wild and free on the branches of the trees along the road in Sorong, West Papua, Indonesia.
Flocking
This species normally does not appear in large numbers. They are not known to flock feed like many of the cockatoo species. Usually only one to six individuals will be observed feeding together at one time. As with other large birds both parents care for young so seeing a breeding pair is not unusual. If these birds do congregate it will usually happen in open woodland just after sunrise or along the rainforest edge before returning to individual roost for the night.
Calls
The Palm Cockatoo has a large and complex vocal repertoire, including many whistles and even a "hello" call that sounds surprisingly human-like.
There are distinct dialects throughout the species' range. It has a unique territorial display where the bird (typically the male) drums with a large (i.e. up to 1" diameter, 15 cm long) stick or seed-pod against a dead bough or tree, creating a loud noise that can be heard up to 100 m away. After drumming, the male occasionally strips the drum-tool into small pieces to line the nest.[citation needed]. Although this drumming behaviour was discovered over two decades ago (in 1984 by G.A. Wood), the reason why palm cockatoos drum is still a mystery. One reason could be that females can assess the durability of the nesting hollow by the resonance of the drumming. Another possibility could be that males drum to mark their territory against other males.[citation needed] The Palm Cockatoo is an unusual bird, being an ancient species and one of the few bird species known to use tools.
Breeding
Palm Cockatoos only lay one egg every second year and have one of the lowest breeding success rates reported for any species of parrot. Off-setting this is their very long life-span. A male commenced breeding at 29 in Taronga Zoo in Sydney, and a female at the London Zoo was 40 when she laid her first egg in 1966. There is anecdotal evidence of a Palm Cockatoo reaching 80 or 90 years of age in an Australian zoo, although the oldest confirmed individual was aged 56 in London Zoo in 2000. Although longevity of captive birds is known, it is still unknown how long palm cockatoos live in the wild. Breeding takes place inside tree hollows that look like standing pipes. Fires play an important role in the destruction and creation of nest hollows. Fires allow the colonisation of microorganisms and termites, which enter the tree and start hollowing out the inside. Cyclones are important in the final stage of nest hollow development.
Diet
The Palm Cockatoo is often observed feeding during the early hours of the day on a diet that consists mostly of wild growing Pandanus palm fruit and nuts from the Kanari tree, Canarium australasicum. They have also been seen eating fruit from Darwin Stringybark Eucalyptus tetradonta and Nonda tree as well as seeds from the Cocky apple tree, Beach almond and Black Bean tree.[5] In early captive situations pet owners would either feed dog kibble or generic bird seed mixture while zoos would give them "monkey biscuits." As their nutritional needs became more apparent over the years owners have shifted to specially formulated "manufactured diet" pellets along with a wide variety of treats like peanuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, oranges, apples, grapes, pomegranate, bananas, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, broccoli and kale. Many zoos will still give them monkey biscuits to broaden their diet.
Status
The Palm Cockatoo is still relatively common in Cape York, but is threatened there by habitat destruction, particularly due to bauxite mining around Weipa and altered fire regimes elsewhere. Palm Cockatoos are hunted in New Guinea. This species is in high demand for the pet trade due to its unusual appearance. The Palm Cockatoo is currently evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix I of CITES.