The Glossy Black-Cockatoo occurs across eastern Australia, as well as on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Adult males and females can usually be distinguished by their appearance. Glossy Black-Cockatoos are strongly associated with she-oak trees (Allocasuarina and Casuarina), their primary food source. She-oaks are native, evergreen trees with long, needle-like foliage. Seeds are contained in woody cones (about the size of an olive but with a rough texture), and Glossy Black-Cockatoos extract them with their large and bulbous bills.
The Glossy Black-Cockatoo is the smallest of Australia’s five species of black-cockatoos (~48cm). It has a brown-black head, red or red with orange/yellow tail panels, and an otherwise dull black body. Adult females have irregular yellow patches on the head, and the tail panels tend to be redder with orange/yellow and black bars but may become less barred and redder with age. The tail panels on adult males tend to be solid red (no black barring). Young birds have yellow spots or streaks on their breast, belly and flanks, with some yellow spots on the cheeks and sides of the head.
A drawn-out, wheezing and grating kee-aiirrk or airrk. Bird call recorded by: Marc Anderson
Glossy Black-Cockatoos mostly occur in eastern Australia, from eastern Queensland, through NSW to eastern Victoria. There is also an isolated population on Kangaroo Island in South Australia.
Habitat: Forest, Woodland
As Glossy Black-Cockatoos feed almost exclusively on the seeds in the cones of she-oak trees, they are most often found in woodlands and open forests dominated by she-oaks. Like other cockatoos, Glossy Black-Cockatoos require tree hollows for nesting. Nesting hollows are typically in old, large, eucalypt trees (living or dead), with an entrance 20–25 cm wide and located 10–20 metres above the ground. Glossy Black-Cockatoos often choose nesting hollows close to a drinking site and usually return to the same nesting hollow over successive seasons.
Glossy Black-Cockatoos are usually found feeding or flying in pairs, trios or small groups, and seldom form large flocks like Red-tailed or Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos. Nevertheless, they can sometimes occur in large groups, such as when gathering at drinking sites before heading off to roost.
They are typically quiet and inconspicuous when feeding, but can be noisy at times, especially around drinking sites, and when breeding, fighting or flying.
While Glossy Black-Cockatoos are feeding, you may hear them make soft contact calls, or hear fledglings begging for food. You may also hear the soft clicking of their bills and the sound of chewed she-oak cones falling to the ground. The discarded, chewed cones and fragments of cones (‘chewings’) are good indicators of the birds’ presence, even after they have left the area.
Glossy Black-Cockatoos are specialist feeders, feeding almost exclusively on seeds in the cones of she-oak trees (Allocasuarina and Casuarina). Their large and bulbous bills have evolved to allow them to process she-oak cones to extract the seeds.
Glossy Black-Cockatoos are monogamous, and each adult bird pairs with a partner for life. Glossy Black-Cockatoos may lay a single egg every 1–2 years. If an egg is lost early in the breeding season, a second egg may be laid. The egg is incubated by the female for around 30 days, until it hatches. While the female is incubating, or brooding the young chick, the male feeds her near the nest each day. The chick fledges (leaves the nest) when around 3 months old. These fledglings are dependent on and fed by both parents for another 3–4 months after leaving the nest. After this period of dependency, the young birds (juveniles) start feeding themselves, but may stay with their parents until the next breeding season. Their typical peak breeding season is March to August, but they may also breed at other times.
