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Neville Cayley Calls Just Two Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos Visit PON Yard

  

Yellow-tailed black cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus funereus, above Lovett Bay, October 2020 - photo by Joe Mills

Yellow-tailed black cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus funereus, above Lovett Bay, October 2020 - photos by Kevin Murray

Glossy Black-cockatoo, Calyptohynchus lathami - photos by Paul Wheeler

The yellow-tailed black cockatoo (Zanda funerea) is a large cockatoo native to the south-east of Australia measuring 55–65 cm (22–26 in) in length. It has a short crest on the top of its head. Its plumage is mostly brownish black and it has prominent yellow cheek patches and a yellow tail band. The body feathers are edged with yellow giving a scalloped appearance. The adult male has a black beak and pinkish-red eye-rings, and the female has a bone-coloured beak and grey eye-rings. 

In flight, yellow-tailed black cockatoos flap deeply and slowly, with a peculiar heavy fluid motion. Their loud, wailing calls carry for long distances. The yellow-tailed black cockatoo is found in temperate forests and forested areas across south and central eastern Queensland right through to south-eastern South Australia, including a very small population persisting in the Eyre Peninsula.

Two subspecies are recognised, although Tasmanian and southern mainland populations of the southern subspecies xanthanotus may be distinct enough from each other to bring the total to three. Birds of subspecies funereus (Queensland to eastern Victoria) have longer wings and tails and darker plumage overall, while those of xanthanotus (western Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania) have more prominent scalloping. The subspecies whiteae is found south of Victoria to the East of South Australia and is smaller in size.

They nest in large hollows high in old growth native trees (~ greater than 200 years old), usually Eucalyptus regnans. Although they remain common throughout much of their range, fragmentation of habitat and loss of large trees suitable for nesting has caused population declines in Victoria and South Australia. Furthermore, the species may lose most of its mainland range due to climate change. In some places yellow-tailed black cockatoos appear to have partially adapted to recent human alteration of landscape and they can often be seen in parts of urban Canberra, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne. 

Yellow-tailed black cockatoos are diurnal, raucous and noisy, and are often heard before being seen. They make long journeys by flying at a considerable height while calling to each other, and they are often seen flying high overhead in pairs, or trios comprising a pair and their young, or small groups. Outside of the breeding season in autumn or winter they may coalesce into flocks of a hundred birds or more, while family interactions between pairs or trios are maintained. They are generally wary birds, although they can be less shy in urban and suburban areas. They generally keep to trees, only coming to ground level to inspect fallen pine or Banksia cones or to drink. Flight is fluid and has been described as "lazy", with deep, slow wingbeats.

A family flying overhead in Tasmania. Photo: Peter Shanks 

The breeding season varies, taking place from April to July in Queensland, January to May in northern New South Wales, December to February in southern New South Wales, and October to February in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. The male yellow-tailed black cockatoo courts by puffing up his crest and spreading his tail feathers to display his yellow plumage. Softly growling, he approaches the female and bows to her three or four times. His eye ring may also flush a deeper pink. Nesting takes place in large vertical tree hollows of tall trees, generally eucalypts.

Like other cockatoos, this species is long-lived. A pair of yellow-tailed black cockatoos at Rotterdam Zoo stopped breeding when they were 41 and 37 years of age, but still showed signs of close bonding.

The yellow-tailed black cockatoo's diet primarily includes seeds of native and introduced plants. They also feed on wood-boring grubs.

The diet of the yellow-tailed black cockatoo is varied and available from a range of habitats within its distribution, which reduces their vulnerability to degradation or change in habitat. Much of the diet comprises seeds of native trees, particularly she-oaks (Allocasuarina and Casuarina, including A. torulosa and A. verticillata), but also Eucalyptus (including E. maculata flowers and E. nitida seeds), Acacia (including gum exudate and galls), Banksia (including the green seed pods and seeds of B. serrata, B. integrifolia, and B. marginata), and Hakea species (including H. gibbosa, H. rugosa, H. nodosa, H. sericea, H. cycloptera, and H. dactyloides). 

Pat Connors Avian Grant for Glossy Black-cockatoo 

WIRES 2025 Grants Applications Open May 19

WIRES National Grants Program

National Support for Critical Wildlife Projects

WIRES’ National Grants Program (NGP) is designed to support best practice wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, an increase in emergency preparedness for wildlife, and native species recovery projects, to improve long-term outcomes in Australia.

Program Objectives

• The NGP was developed to provide ongoing support for wildlife, and their habitats, across Australia. WIRES’ focus is on proposals that have tangible, positive, and ideally long-term, outcomes for wildlife. Program objectives include:
• Building capacity and capability for the Australian wildlife rescue and rehabilitation sector,
• Improving emergency preparedness and response capabilities to assist wildlife,
• Preserving species and their habitat through projects leading to long term positive outcomes for native wildlife,
• Raising community awareness and inspiring broader community involvement in supporting Australian wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and preservation.

Funding Categories

Up to $1 million is available across these tiers annually, and eligible applicants are invited to submit proposals for:

• Tier 1: Individually Licensed Wildlife Rescuers and Carers (maximum $2,000)
• Tier 2: Licensed Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Organisations (maximum $8,000)
• Tier 3: Environmental NGOs and Community Groups (maximum $20,000)
• Tier 4: Consortia/Multi-partner Collaborations (maximum $50,000)