It’s the last day of April, which means it’s time to say “see you later” to our Animal of the Month, the umbrella cockatoo. We hope that you enjoyed our posts about these affectionate birds on “X” (a.k.a. Twitter), Threads and now Bluesky! But if you happened to miss any, you can always find a summary right here. Did you know?:

• Umbrella cockatoos (Cacatua alba) are also commonly known as the white cockatoo, white-crested cockatoo and the great white-crested cockatoo.
• The umbrella cockatoo was first described by German zoologist Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller in 1776 in a German translation of Linnaeus’s “Natursystem,” which was a groundbreaking scientific classification system.
• As for the umbrella cockatoo’s scientific name, the genus “Cacatua” is derived from the Malay word for cockatoo “Kakatuá.”
• The umbrella cockatoo’s species name “alba” means “white” in Latin. It is the feminine form of “albus.”
• Umbrella cockatoos are endemic to Indonesia’s North Maluku islands of Bacan, Halmahera, Kasiruta, Mandiole, Ternate and Tidore.
• There are reports of feral umbrella cockatoo populations on the Indonesian islands of Obi and Bisa, and on Taiwan. It’s believed these introduced populations are the result of escaped and deliberately released pets.
• In the wild, umbrella cockatoos live in forests, open woodlands, swamps and mangroves. They can also be found in agricultural areas, where they are considered a nuisance.
• According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the highest concentrations of wild umbrella cockatoos exist in primary forests, which are forests undisturbed by human activity.
• Umbrella cockatoos spend most of their time high up in the canopy of large trees. They are largely resident birds – meaning, they’re not migratory – but they are known to roam in search of food.
• When it comes to courting potential mates, male umbrella cockatoos know how to impress the ladies.
• First, the male umbrella cockatoo will spread his wings and tail feathers and raise his crest while ruffling his feathers. Then he will bounce around in a mating dance of sorts.
• After initially avoiding her suitor, eventually the female umbrella cockatoo will allow him to approach her to mate.
• Umbrella cockatoos mate for life and this courtship ritual is usually much shorter with established bonded pairs.
• In the wild, umbrella cockatoos will nest in holes in large trees. Typically two eggs are laid with the incubation period lasting about a month. Both parents will share in incubation duties.
• Incubation lasts about a month. At around three months of age, umbrella cockatoo chicks will learn to fly. But they remain with their parents for care for several weeks after that.
• Umbrella cockatoos are social and affectionate. In addition to pair-bonding, they will live in small flocks of up to 15 individuals.
• At night, umbrella cockatoos may gather in groups of up to 50 to roost.
• In captivity, umbrella cockatoos form close bonds with their human family members from whom they demand lots of time, attention and enrichment.
• Umbrella cockatoos have two volumes – loud and louder. They’re considered to be one of the planet’s loudest parrot species. In captivity, they’re not recommended as family pets for apartment dwellers.
• There are suggestions that the screams of umbrella cockatoos can reach anywhere from 90-135 decibels.
• That level of noise puts umbrella cockatoos on the same level as power lawn mowers and blenders (90 dB) and air raid sirens and stock car races (130-135 dB).
• Umbrella cockatoos need to be that loud because in the wild their call needs to be carried over long distances to communicate with others.
• Umbrella cockatoos are able to mimic human speech and other sounds in their environment. But their voices are not as clear compared to African grey parrots, who are considered to be the best talkers.
• Like all parrots, umbrella cockatoos have zygodactyl feet. That means their feet are in the shape of an “X” with two forward-facing toes and two that face backward.
• Their zygodactyl feet give umbrella cockatoos the ability to grasp and pick up objects and food, and grip branches and other similar surfaces. Their feet also help them climb.
• As humans are mostly either right- or left-handed, so too are umbrella cockatoos who will favour one foot over the other for eating or manipulating objects.
• With their feet, and combined with their intelligence and problem-solving skills, umbrella cockatoos can use tools. For example, they can use a twig as a back-scratcher.
• Umbrella cockatoos in the wild will eat arboreal fruit, nuts and seeds. They have also been observed peeling bark off of trees, which suggests that they also eat insects and larvae.
• Birds of prey, wild cats and snakes are among the predators of umbrella cockatoos. But the biggest threat they face is that from humans.
• Umbrella cockatoos are endangered in the wild because of poaching for the pet trade along with habitat loss due to land clearing for agriculture and mining.
• In the wild, umbrella cockatoos can live for an average of about 30 years. In captivity with good care, they can live to about 60 years – and many years beyond in some cases.
• An umbrella cockatoo named Duster who lived at the Florida Parrot Rescue passed away on March 26, 2024 at the approximate age of 98.
• The rescue estimates that Duster was born on June 1, 1925, but that date is impossible to verify as he was wild-caught before being brought to the U.S.

This is the second time that we have featured umbrella cockatoos as our Animal of the Month. Curious to see what we posted the first time around? Come on over to our blog post from October 2015 and check it out!