The above plush birds include the Sulphur-crested
Cockatoo and the Galah from Wild Republic's Audubon Birds collection.
KuKu the Beanie Baby. The little blue Cockatoo is from Russ Luv
Pets. And the two big Cockatoos are made by Hansa Plush. Wild
Republic has discontinued its Australian Series of birds.
The cockatoos (Cacatua) are natives of
Australia and the East Indies. They are 
noted
by a bill in which the upper jaw overlaps the narrow lower jaw,
and by an erectile crest. The White-crested Cockatoo, Cacatua
alba, measures 18 in. and is white, with a crest of feathers
broadened at the tip. It lives in northern and central Moluccas.
The Salmon-crested or Pink-crested Cockatoo, Cacatua moluccensis,
of the southern Moluccas, is 20 in. long, with white, salmon-tinged
feathers. It has a broad crest; its longest feathers are red.
The Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
(18 in.), Cacatua galerita, has a 
yellow crest and yellow cheeks. Otherwise it is
completely white. The Galah or Roseate Cockatoo (below),
Cacatua roseicapilla, is ashy grey above and pink on the
head and chest. It occurs in western and northern Australia.
Leadbeater's Cockatoo, Cacatua leadbeateri,
also of Australia, has a red, white and yellow crest. The upper
parts are white, the underparts pink. The Little Corella or Bare-eyed
Cockatoo, Cacatua sanguinea, has a small, broad crest and a bare
eye-ring. These species are considered pests in Australia because
of the damage they do to crops.
The giant black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus
magnificus) has naked cheeks that turn red when the bird is excited.
It lives in the New Guinea rain forests cracking hard candlenuts
with its huge bill.
The cockatoo makes its nest in a high tree
hole in the tropical forest. Two white eggs are laid on wood
chips. The young hatch naked and blind and are fed by the adults
with regurgitated food for about three months. Cockatoos often
travel in huge flocks numbering in the thousands. They make good
pets and are found in all zoos.
