They live in monogamous pairs and family groups can be seen together in summer. probably because they can’t get a word in edgeways, if the white Cockatoo is around! Photo by Julian Robinson Canberra Ornithologists Group The description of the Gang-Gang is that they are ”gregarious, but relatively quiet cockatoos”. The adult male has a distinctive scarlet red head and crest, and the female has a dark grey head and chest. Photo by Julian Robinson Canberra Ornithologists Group In Canberra we are lucky enough to have seven varieties of Cockatoos (who knew?) and this cute pair are the male and female Gang-Gang Cockatoo. My first glimpse of a young Gang-Gang Cockatoo (male) at the National Botanical Gardens.

So to educate myself about other birds, last spring I joined a group of people surveying the Gang-Gang Cockatoo, here in the National Botanical Gardens.

Habitat is defined to include 'an area periodically or occasionally occupied by a species'.Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos are not the only birds in Canberra, but you could be forgiven for thinking so if you are a regular reader of my blog.Īutumn is such a busy time for all birds in Canberra, so there are many photo opportunities, but the Sulphur Crested Cockatoo some how always manages to fly into scenes and photos. Damage is defined to include 'damage caused by removing any part of the habitat'. This protection status as a threatened species makes it a Tier 1 criminal offence for a person or corporation to knowingly damage the bird's habitat. It is protected as a vulnerable species under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (NSW). As a result, the gang-gang is now listed as vulnerable in New South Wales. Loss of older, hollow trees and loss of feeding habitat across south-eastern Australia through land clearing has led to a significant reduction in the numbers of this cockatoo in recent years. Also, they breed in the canopy of most trees. Unlike most other cockatoos, gang-gangs nest in young, solid trees, the females using their strong beaks to excavate nesting cavities. However they must migrate back to denser forests to breed, as they need tall trees in order to build nests. The birds migrate short distances during winter into more open habitats. The gang-gang prefers forests and woodlands in the mountains with dense shrub understories. They are an introduced species on Kangaroo Island. They used to inhabit King Island off of Tasmania, but they have since gone extinct locally. The gang-gang is endemic to coastal regions of south-eastern Australia. Considering the robust phylogeny of the cockatoos now established, a comparison of characteristics gained and lost during the evolution of cockatoos suggests that the gang-gang cockatoo-while of course much changed and adapted during the perhaps 20 million years since its last common ancestor with any other living species lived-is probably still very similar in overall appearance to how the earliest cockatoos would have looked, and certainly the most primitive-looking of the species alive today. New research has finally resolved the matter, with the gang-gang cockatoo being recognized as a distinctive early offshoot of the calyptorhynchine (dark) cockatoos. This has always been controversial due to the unusual appearance and coloration of the bird, especially its sexual dichromatism. The gang-gang cockatoo was most often allied with the white cockatoos of the genus Cacatua. Gang-gangs are very social birds, but not overly noisy. The birds are not easily mistaken for other cockatoos, but while in flight may resemble the Galah. Juvenile males can be distinguished by their brighter crowns and shorter crests, but otherwise look similar to the adult female. The edges of feathers on upperarts are slightly paler grey than the rest of the feather, which makes the bird look somewhat barred. The edges of feathers in underparts have edges of yellow or pink. The head and crest is bright red in males, but dark grey in females. The gang-gang cockatoo is a grey bird with a wispy crest.

Gang gang cockatoo female