Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Cacatua galerita
Also called Greater sulphur-crested cockatoo, White cockatoo
From Australia (east and north, including Tasmania), New Guinea and nearby Indonesian islands. It uses woodland, mangroves, farmland, savanna and suburbs, and small introduced populations live in Perth, Singapore, Palau and New Zealand.12
At a glance the quick version
Looks how to spot one
Feathered; large white cockatoo with a forward-curving yellow crest
A big, bright-white cockatoo with a tall crest of narrow sulphur-yellow feathers that curls forward when raised. The undersides of the wings and tail are washed with yellow, the beak is dark slate grey and the eye ring is whitish, or bluish in some subspecies. Males have near-black eyes, while females have reddish-brown eyes.21
Personality what they are like
A bold, intelligent and sociable bird that thrives on interaction. It is famously smart, learns new tricks quickly and has a very loud, raucous voice. It suits experienced keepers who can give lots of company, chewing material and daily attention.21
Daily activity how busy a day looks
High. It loves to chew wood and needs a steady supply of chew and puzzle toys, daily time out of the cage and foraging tasks.23
Grooming and care the hands-on bits
Produces powder down, so regular bathing or showers keep its plumage clean. Supply safe wood for chewing to keep its strong beak busy.32
Home where they are happiest
A very large, sturdy, securely welded cage with strong locks, plus a play stand or aviary. LafeberVet gives cockatoo bar spacing of 1.3-1.9 cm and perches 1.9-5 cm across.3
Food basics what goes in the bowl
Wild birds forage on grasses, sprouting grain, seeds, roots, nuts, fruit, flowers and insect larvae. For pets, feed a quality pellet or formulated diet with fresh vegetables, some fruit and nuts, rather than seed alone.13
Company who they like around
Highly social. Wild flocks can number up to about 2,000 birds, and a pet needs plenty of daily company and interaction.12
The story where it all began
This is the classic white cockatoo of eastern Australia and New Guinea, split into several regional subspecies. It has long been kept by people, and some famous birds have lived for around a century. In Sydney, wild flocks have become known for learning new tricks from each other, which scientists have studied as a kind of bird culture.21
Fun facts for the dinner table
- 1
Wild cockatoos in Sydney learned to lift the lids of wheelie bins to find food, and the trick spread between birds by copying.2
- 2
While a flock feeds, one bird perches high up and keeps watch for danger.1
- 3
Snowball, a sulphur-crested cockatoo, became famous for dancing in time to music and was recorded using 14 different dance moves.2
- 4
Some individuals, such as Cocky Bennett and Fred, are reported to have reached around 100 years of age.2
Recognised by the official bits
- IUCN Red List
- Least Concern.1
- CITES
- Appendix II.1
- Taxonomy
- Five subspecies recognised by World Parrot Trust, differing in crest width, eye-ring colour and bill shape.1
The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you
A typical home-care rhythm for a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.
- Fresh food and waterevery day
- Cage linerevery day
- Full cleanevery week
- Bath offerevery 3 days
- Nails checkevery month
- Beak checkevery month
- EnrichmentPuzzles and foraging every dayevery day
- Out-of-cage timeAbout 3 hours a dayevery day
- Vet check-upevery year
You might also like
Umbrella Cockatoo
Moluccan CockatooLike what we are building? Buy us a coffee.
The breed atlas is free for everyone, with a source on every fact, and it will never show ads. If it helped you, a small tip keeps the research going. Any amount is lovely, and no is a perfectly fine answer too.
Where this comes from
Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
- Sulphur-crested Cockatoo - World Parrot Trust Parrot Encyclopedia parrots.orgused for names, size, weight, range, habitat, subspecies, diet, behaviour, status, lifespan
- Sulphur-crested cockatoo - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.orgused for length, lifespan, description, behaviour, dancing, bin-opening, notable birds
- Basic Information Sheet: Cockatoo - LafeberVet lafeber.comused for weight, lifespan, bar spacing, perch size, bathing, diet basics
Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.