
Our Animal of the Month, the cockatiel, is flying out of the spotlight as the first month of 2025 winds down. If you were following us on “X” (a.k.a. Twitter) and Threads, we hope that you enjoyed all of our posts about these charming birds. But if you happened to miss any of our posts, you can find a summary right here that you can reference at any time. Did you know?:
- Cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus) are medium-sized parrots. In scientific classification, they are members of the Cacatuoidea superfamily of parrots.
- Cacatuidae, which is the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea, is made up of 21 species of cockatoos. Cockatiels are the smallest of this group of cockatoo species.
- Cockatiels are endemic to Australia and are found throughout most of the country with the exception of some coastal areas. They tend to primarily live in Australia’s Outback.
- There are reports of an introduced feral population of cockatiels in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico as a result of people releasing their pets.
- In the wild, cockatiels live in low-elevation arid and semi-arid regions and prefer more open areas over dense forests.
- Cockatiels can be found in open woodlands, savannas, acacia woodlands and grasslands. In every habitat, cockatiels can be found near a water source.
- Cockatiels can also be found in rural gardens, orchards and other agricultural areas. They are considered to be an agricultural pest in parts of Australia.
- Fully grown, cockatiels measure 29-33 cm (11 – 12.9 inches) in length. About half of that length is made up of their slender tails, which can fan out during flight.
- Cockatiels have grey bodies and chests. Males have yellow foreheads and faces with wispy yellow and grey crests on their heads. They also have bright orange ear patches.
- Female cockatiels have duller crests and faces, which appear mostly grey with yellow tints. Their orange ear patches are a bit duller than the males.
- Both male and female cockatiels have white upper wing patches. The female’s underparts have subtle dark grey barring. The underside of her tail is barred with dark grey and yellow, while the outer tail feathers are mainly yellow.
- Cockatiels have dark brown eyes and curved grey beaks. The upper mandible (the upper part of the beak) curves down and covers the lower mandible.
- Cockatiels started to become popular as family pets in the mid-20th century. Since then, captive breeding has resulted in many colour morphs; including lutino, pied, pearl, cinnamon, silver and albino.
- Cockatiels are granivores, which means in the wild they mostly eat grains and seeds.
- Cockatiels mostly eat seeds on the ground, but they will also eat seeds from crops. They favour acacia seeds and tend to live in areas where acacia shrubs grow.
- It’s important to note that in the wild, cockatiels eat a wide variety of seeds from different plants. They are also nomadic and will travel to find seeds of plants as they come into season.
- Unfortunately, many people who keep cockatiels in captivity feed them commercial seed mixes mistakenly thinking that this will be an adequate diet because wild cockatiels eat seeds.
- But commercial seed mixes are high in fat and carbohydrates and don’t offer the proper nutritional balance that cockatiels in captivity need to be healthy.
- Cockatiels in captivity should have a diet that is comprised of about 75-80% pelleted food that is specially formulated for birds. Only 20-25% of their daily diet should be fruits and vegetables.
- Cockatiels are social birds and will travel in pairs or small flocks.
- Cockatiels will also feed together in flocks of varying size. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology cites one study which observed an average of 27 birds in feeding flocks.
- But cockatiels have also been observed feeding in flocks with numbers in the hundreds and sometimes thousands. They also will often be seen at watering holes with budgerigars (budgies) (Melopsittacus undulatus).
- Cockatiels in the wild will usually feed twice a day. Their first meal is eaten early in the morning, just after sunrise. They will also feed about 90 minutes before the sun sets.
- The cockatiel’s main predators in the wild are raptors, who usually target cockatiels as they are feeding on the ground.
- The cockatiels’ colouring helps camouflage them from predators while they are on the ground. Their only other defense mechanism is their ability to fly away from threats quickly.
- In the wild, cockatiels usually live between 10 – 15 years. With proper care in captivity, cockatiels can live an average of 20 years. But there are reports of captive cockatiels living into their 30s.
- The Guinness Book of Records says as of July 26, 2023, the oldest living cockatiel is 31-year-old Frankie, who lives in South Salem, New York. It is unclear if Frankie is still alive today.
- The oldest cockatiel recorded reportedly lived to be 36-years-old, according to the Zoological Society of London’s International Zoo Yearbook Volume 37, Issue 1.
This is the second time that we have featured cockatiels as our Animal of the Month. Come on over to our blog post from October 2014 to see what we posted the first time around!