Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo

Red-tailed black cockatoo are large black cockatoos with recumbent crests. They are dimorphic by plumage color. The male is solid black except for broad red panels on the lateral tail feathers. The central tail feathers are totally black. The female’s undersides are barred with red/orange scallops on the coverts. The back and upper wings are speckled. The tail has patches of yellow-orange with black bars.

Red-tailed black cockatoos are inquisitive and love to chew objects in their surroundings. Their beak was designed for chewing trees and they are very powerful chewers. They are very destructive if allowed to perch on furniture. The red-tailed black cockatoo should always be provided with toys, blocks of wood or branches that they can chew.

Feeding

Red-tailed black cockatoos are efficient in utilization of calories as the white and pink cockatoos although they are not likely to become obese. Red-tailed black cockatoos should be fed a formulated (pelleted or extruded) diet as a basis for good nutrition. The diet should be supplemented with fresh fruits and vegetables daily to add variety and psychological enrichment. Feed approximately 1/3 cup of a formulated diet and 1/3 cup of fresh fruits and vegetables daily. They should also be offered 2 to 3 large nuts daily. The best choices are walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, almonds or filberts. If peanuts are fed they should be shelled first and inspected for fungal growth. Red-tailed black cockatoos are usually lean by nature and not likely to become overweight. Vitamin supplements are not needed for birds that are eating a formulated diet. Provide fresh branches for additional chewing.

Nickname	Banks’ black cockatoo
Common name	Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo
Scientific name	Calyptorhynchus banksii
Color of feathers	Black
Color of crest	Black
Body size	60 cm
Sex difference	Males have red on their tail feathers, females have light spots and stripes on their body and chest.
Easily tamed	No
Cage or aviary	Aviary
Usual cost	Expensive outside of Australia

A red-tailed black cockatoo as a pet

Red-Tailed Black cockatoos are not popular as pets, especially not outside of Australia. They are very expensive. They can become quite tame, but generally people prefer white cockatoo species as pets. Of all black cockatoo species seen in captivity, the red-tailed black cockatoo is the most common. Breeding them in captivity is not hard, but as the species is not commonly found it can be hard to obtain one.