What do they look like?
The Glossy Black-Cockatoo is the smallest black-cockatoo in Australia. They are entirely black, but if you look skyward and glimpse a streak of red on a jet black tail, you’ve probably just found one.
Glossy Black-Cockatoos are about 46-50 cm long. Males have brownish heads and chests, with red tail feathers. Females have yellow patches on their heads and necks, with orange-red barred tail panels. Both have small crests with a broad and bulbous bill for cracking open tasty cones. They are often confused with their close relative, the Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo who are also glossy and black with red tails.
Where are they found?
The Glossy Black-Cockatoo is widespread across eastern Australia. There is also a small cluster found on Kangaroo Island, South Australia.
Glossy Blacks are found mostly in three Australian regions: south-eastern Queensland, eastern Victoria, and on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. They are drawn to woodland and open forests with casuarina trees. A pair of Glossy Blacks eats about 60-89 thousand casuarina cones a year, however bushfires and habitat clearing can make this a difficult target. As a result the Glossy Black-Cockatoo is now a protected species in NSW.
Fast facts:
- These close-knit cockatoos live in very small groups, with usually two to three members. Their call is soft and gentle, and they repeat the sound ‘tarr-ed‘ to communicate with each other. This can help to tell them apart from their Red-tailed cousins, who talk in a sharper ‘kree‘ sound.
- OUR CONSERVATION STATUS
National: Endangered
State: Endangered (SA)
Glossy Black-Cockatoo
The Glossy Black-Cockatoo is the smallest black-cockatoo in Australia.
The Glossy Black feeds on the seeds of casuarina, eucalypts, angophoras, acacias and hakea trees. They can be quiet while feeding and hard to spot. They usually feed in groups of three. Although, if you look skyward and glimpse a streak of red on a jet black tail, you’ve probably just found one.
The Glossy Blacks’ favourite food is casuarina seeds. They also like to build their nests in the hollows of dead or living eucalyptus trees. Glossy Black parents make sure that food trees are close to their nest, so their baby doesn’t have to wait too long for food.
If you have any of their favourite trees in your backyard, let them flourish. They will also help you out by protecting the trees with their occasional appetite for wood boring insect larvae.
Glossy Black Cockatoos love:
- Casuarina seeds, especially from mature trees, which have more nutrients than younger trees. Some of their favourite varieties include Black She-Oak, Salty She-Oak and Drooping She-Oak.
- Their mate, who they stay with for life. Glossy Black pairs stay together year round, and every autumn they raise just one chick together.
- Fresh, clean water for them to drink in the evening. Glossy Blacks spend about 80% of their day foraging for food.
But they don’t like:
- Land without trees, as trees for Glossy Blacks offer nesting habitat and food sources.
- Honeybees and galahs, who compete for the same type of trees to build their nests in.
Try to:
- Keep any casuarina trees in your backyard alive and healthy. They are the Glossy Blacks main food source, and are becoming quite rare in the wild in some places. You can also plant new casuarina trees.
- Place some clean, fresh water in your garden in a bird bath or shallow dish.
Avoid:
- Cutting down dead trees in your yard. Glossy Blacks prefer to nest in the hollows of dead trees, especially eucalypts.
- Throwing away any fallen or half chewed up cones lying under casuarina trees. Crimson Rosellas eat any seeds overlooked by Glossy Blacks, which the bigger Cockatoos can’t prise out on their own.
Don’t be surprised if Glossy Black-Cockatoos:
- Are not actually glossy or black. Their feathers have more of a dark brown tinge, and are matte rather than glossy in texture.
- Sound like a car alarm when singing to attract a mate.
- Don’t fly away when you walk up to them, even when they’re eating. Glossy Blacks are calm and peaceful, and don’t mind the company of people.
A few more Glossy Black-Cockatoo facts
- Glossy Black-Cockatoos are about 46-50 cm long. Males have brownish heads and chests, with red tail feathers. Females have yellow patches on their heads and necks, with orange-red barred tail panels. Both have small crests with a broad and bulbous bill for cracking open tasty cones. They are often confused with their close relative, the Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo who are also glossy and black with red tails.
- These close-knit cockatoos live in very small groups, with usually two to three members. Their call is soft and gentle, and they repeat the sound ‘tarr-ed‘ to communicate with each other. This can help to tell them apart from their Red-tailed cousins, who talk in a sharper ‘kree‘ sound.
- Glossy Blacks are found mostly in three Australian regions: south-eastern Queensland, eastern Victoria, and on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. They are drawn to woodland and open forests with casuarina trees. A pair of Glossy Blacks eats about 60-89 thousand casuarina cones a year, however bushfires and habitat clearing can make this a difficult target. As a result the Glossy Black-Cockatoo is now a protected species in NSW.
