Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo
The red-tailed black cockatoo is a cockatoo species from Australia. The Latin name of the species is Calyptorhynchus banksii. Males of this species are black with some bright red spots on its tail feathers. Females are black with light yellow-orange spots on their feathers, with some light stripes on their chest. They lack the red tail feathers and their crest is smaller than the crest of the male. The bill of males is black and the bill of females in horn-colored.
This species is also known as Banksian- or Banks’ black cockatoo. There are several subspecies of the red-tailed black cockatoo. They live in different habitats in Australia and are endangered because of habitat distruction. The most common subspecies are Calyptorhynchus banksii samueli (found in 4 chattered populations), the south-eastern Calyptorhynchus banksii graptogyne and the southwestern Calyptorhynchus banksii naso. They generally look the same, but have distinct differences in body size, beak size and some sounds they produce.
Nickname | Banks’ black cockatoo |
Common name |
Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo |
Scientific name |
Calyptorhynchus banksii |
Color of feathers |
Black |
Color of crest |
Black |
Body size |
60 cm |
Sex difference |
Males have red on their tail feathers, females have light spots and stripes on their body and chest. |
Easily tamed |
No |
Cage or aviary |
Aviary |
Usual cost |
Expensive outside of Australia |
Origin and Natural habitat
The red-tailed black cockatoo originates from Australia. It lives in the dryer parts of the continent. They are mostly found in eucalyptus woodlands. In Northern australia you can spot large flocks of these birds. In the rest of the continent you generally only see small groups. The birds migrate sligthly based on rainfall and the seasons.
A red-tailed black cockatoo as a pet
Red-Tailed Black cockatoos are not popular as pets, especially not outside of Australia. They are very expensive. They can become quite tame, but generally people prefer white cockatoo species as pets. Of all black cockatoo species seen in captivity, the red-tailed black cockatoo is the most common. Breeding them in captivity is not hard, but as the species is not commonly found it can be hard to obtain one.