Baudin’s Black-Cockatoo is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a large, dull black cockatoo with a large bill and one of Australia’s five black cockatoo species.
Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo and Baudin’s Black-Cockatoo are quite similar and are often mistaken for each other.
The body feathers of both species are brownish-black, with narrow off-white tips, making the feathers look scalloped when viewed at close range. They have white patches on their cheeks and white panels on the tail that are particularly visible during flight. The males of both species are distinguished by rings of pink skin around the eye and black bills, while both females have grey-black eye rings and bone coloured bills.
Where they differ is by the shape of their bills. Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo has a short, wide bill. In comparison, Baudin’s bills are long and narrow, with an upper mandible that extends well below the lower. The average size is 55cm.
A loud, whistling ‘weeoo wee-oo’, often repeated. Bird call recorded by: Marc Anderson
Baudin’s Black-Cockatoos occur only in south-western Western Australia, between Cape Arid and Kalbarri, in the wheatbelt. They are partly migratory and partly resident.
Habitat: Woodland, Urban, Forest
Baudin’s Black-Cockatoos have a preference for Jarrah and Marri forests. They breed in large hollows of old Karri and Marri within heavily forested areas
Baudin’s Black-cockatoos are social birds, and while you sometimes see individual birds, they are more often in pairs, small groups, or large flocks. With their loud calls, flocks can be heard well before they are seen.
Cockatoos may move along a branch, biting off cones or seeds and green branches for no clear reason.
Black-cockatoos eat a variety of native and commercial nuts, fruits, and seeds, as well as nectar and insects.
They feed in trees. They cut off seeds and cones with their strong bills and then hold the food with one foot while they strip the seeds. They sometimes forage in pine trees and orchards. Occasionally, they forage on the ground.
Tree hollows vital for cockatoos to breed in are being lost to fire, taken over by feral bees and other invasive species, and are not being replaced in the landscape. Their breeding season is from late July to October.
