Lesser sulphur crested cockatoo

The Yellow-crested cockatoo usually has white plumage, and on its head is a yellow crest that curves forwards. Its wings and tail on the undersides are also yellow, its bill is black, and its feet gray. Females have reddish-brown eyes and males have black eyes. The skin around their eyes is bluish. As adults the males iris will remain a dark brown to black colour whilst the females iris will take on a reddish colour.

They form long term social bonds and are generally monogamous (pairing for life). Both birds will take turns in incubating the 2 eggs laid by the female, which can take around 28 days to hatch. Most of the time these birds will live in pairs or sometimes in small groups but these groups may be larger during periods of feeding or roosting, to give them safety in numbers.

The yellow-crested cockatoo is critically endangered. Numbers have declined dramatically due to illegal trapping for the cage-bird trade. Between 1980 and 1992, over 100,000 of these birds were legally exported from Indonesia.