Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo (Zanda funerea)

Male: General plumage is dusky black. Feathers narrowly edged with yellow, with those on the underparts having wider yellow edges. Small yellow cheek patch. Wings, dusky. Broad band near end of tail, yellow and speckled with dark brown. Central tail feathers all black. Eye, dark brown with pink surround. Bill, dark grey. Feet and toes, grey-brown. Claws, dusky.

Female: As male but cheek patch larger and brighter yellow. Bare skin surrounding eye is dark grey. Bill, bone. Feet and toes, buff-olive.

Immatures: Similar to adult female, but young males may have small, dull yellow cheek patch like adult male.

Downy Young: Long, yellow downed.

Other Names (World)
Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo, Funereal Black-cockatoo, Yellow-eared Black-cockatoo, Common Black-cockatoo, Black Cockatoo, Yellow-tailed Cockatoo, Wylah, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

Family
Cacatuidae (Cockatoos)

Size
55 - 65 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Shaw, 1794)

Derivation
Cal-�pt-o-rhynch'-us - Gk, calyptos, hidden; Gk, rhynchos, beak: fun-er'-e-us - L., funereus, funereal, black

Abundance (Guide)
C

Moderately common. Nomadic or locally migratory.

Habitat
Temperatue rainforests, eucalypt forests. Woodlands from sea-level to above snowline. Heathlands, banksia, hakea, acacia woodlands and scrubs. Shelterbelts, plantations of eucaplypt, exotic conifers.

Range (Guide)

Australia (B).

Image of Range of Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo

From central Queensland to Victoria and southern South Australia, extending west to southern Eyre Peninsula. Also on Kangaroo Island, King Island and Tasmania.

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 25,000 (2010).

Status LC
Probably secure.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Seeds of introduced conifers, banksias, hakeas to wood-boring larvae in eucalypts and acacias.

Voice
Contact call in flight a high-pitched drawn-out whistle 'whee-la' lasting about three-quarters of a second, the last syllable rather prolonged. A single-syllabled harsh call in alarm. Fledged young rasp harshly.

Listen to call of Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo

(27Kb) © ? (1)

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (76)...)

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo (Zanda funerea) [XC362984]
by James Lambert from Miandetta, Devonport City Council, Tasmania, Australia (call)

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo (Zanda funerea) [XC460759]
by Ramit Singal from Coorongooba campground, Wollemi NP, New South Wales, Australia (call)

Breeding Season (Guide)
March - August in north, July - January in south.

Nest
In a hollow of a tree, very high up. Entrance is at least 180mm in diameter, widening to at last twice that size at the floor.

Eggs (Guide)
2; white; oval; 45 - 50 x 37 mm. Incubation: four weeks; by female.

Young
Fledge in about three months.

Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo (Zanda latirostris) and Baudin's Black-Cockatoo (Zanda baudinii). Has been considered conspecific with Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo (Zanda latirostris), and occasionally with Baudin's Black-Cockatoo (Zanda baudinii). Southern subspecies considered by some to form a megasubspecies.

The following 3 subspecies are recognised:

funereus (Shaw, 1794) - East-central Queensland (Emerald) south to eastern Victoria.
xanthanotus Gould, 1838 - Tasmania, islands of Bass Strait.
whiteae Mathews, 1912 - Southern Victoria to Eyre Peninsula (south-central South Australia), including Kangaroo I. Not widely accepted.

Similar Species
Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus banksii), Glossy Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami) and Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo (Zanda latirostris).

References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9

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