Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo
Male (from southern Western Australia)
Female (from Queensland)
Fallen tail feather (south-western Western Australia)
Scientific Name: Calyptorhynchus banksii
Size: around 60 cm
What does it look and sound like?
This is a large, black cockatoo. The Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo male is easily identified by its dense crest of black feathers, almost entirely black plumage, and bright red undertail. The female is duller grey-brown, barred and spotted with yellow, and has a diagnostic white bill. The Glossy Black-Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus lathami of south-east Australia and Kangaroo Island, SA, has a paler head and breast and is much smaller. The contact call of the Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo is a rolling metallic ‘kreee’ or ‘krurr’, usually given in flight.
Where is it found?
It is found over much of Australia, with six subspecies currently recognised.
What are its habitats & habits?
Commonly found in scattered groups and in a variety of habitats, it favours lightly timbered country along watercourses.
Interesting facts
A large-scale genetic study by researchers from the Australian Museum, University of Sydney, CSIRO and the University of Edinburgh discovered a subspecies of the bird.
The newly identified subspecies lives in the regions spanning the Wheatbelt, east of Perth, to the Pilbara in the state’s north-west.
The new subspecies has been named Calyptorhynchus banksii escondidus
This species features in my book Australia’s Birdwatching Megaspots