Lesser Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo birds

Lesser Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo birds

Scientific Name:  Cacatua sulphurea

Size:  13 inches

Native Region:  Indonesian Islands

Life Expectancy:  50 to 60 years

Noise Level:  Moderate

Talk/Trick Ability:  Fair-Good talking ability; Good trick ability

Traits:  Lesser sulphur-crested cockatoos are playful, mischievous, entertaining birds that delight in learning and showing off new behaviors. They are known to be escape artists and can learn to unlock and open cage doors. They are very affectionate and demand a great deal of attention and can start to engage in destructive behavior, such as feather plucking, if not given structured attention; therefore they are best suited to someone who has the time and desire to devote to the bird.

Behavior/Health Concerns:  Lesser sulphur-cockatoos have a great need to chew, so provide plenty of healthy pet bird toys and materials. They are dusty birds, so they are not suitable for people with breathing problems. Keep a lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo’s feather dust down with a daily bath. It is important to spend structured, focused time, including teaching the lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo how to play by itself. Doing this can help prevent destructive behaviors from developing due to lack of attention, as they can become neurotic if left alone.

Expert Advice

"The lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo can be a delightful pet if trained properly. This cockatoo tends to bond to one person only, and can be nervous. They are very intelligent and can do a variety of tricks. Some can speak well, but have a limited vocabulary." 

The Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoos are very docile. They can learn to speak and are easy to teach all kinds of tricks. This is a smaller cockatoo and they are sometimes referred to as the "apartment-sized cockatoo". They are pretty birds with a delicate beautiful appearance and their movements are very gracefully.

   Like cockatoos in general, they are a very loving type of bird. Affection is readily accepted and returned in kind. They are a pet that not only appreciates interaction but requires it and needs a lot of attention from their owners. Buy a cockatoo only if you can spend a lot of time with it

Subspecies:

Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Cacatua sulphurea sulphurea

Citron-crested Cockatoo

Cacatua sulphurea citrinocristata

Cacatua sulphurea djampeana

Cacatua sulphurea abbotti

Cacatua sulphurea occidentalis

Cacatua sulphurea parvula

   The Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo is divided into six subspecies. They very much resemble the Greater Sulphur-crested Cockatoo but are much smaller, being 3 or 4 inches shorter in length. Except for the Citron-crested Cockatoo they are all similar to each other as well, with differences being in the amount of yellow, the size of the bill, or combinations of these. The Citron-crested Cockatoo is decidedly different in that its crest and ear-coverts are orange rather than yellow and it is a bit larger than the others.

Distribution:

   This bird is found in Sulawesi (Celebes), Sunda Islands, and other adjoining islands. They inhabit open woodlands, the edge of forests, and cultivated wheat fields.

Description:

   Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoos are a smaller cockatoo. They have a white plummage with a yellow or "sulphur" colored crest on the top of their head. There is also yellow their cheeks and on the undersides of their wings and tail. They can learn to talk, as can most cockatoos and are easy to teach all kinds of tricks. Mature birds are about 33 cm (13 inches) in length.

   In many respects the Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo resembles the Greater Sulphur-crested Cockatoo. Technically these two species would be referred to as 'superspecies', meaning two similar species that are geographically separated. Besides size, the Greater Sulphur-crested being a larger bird, there are a few other criteria used to identify them. The Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoos have a heavier, wider, and less protruding beak, their crest is usually narrower, and the bare skin around their eyes is much whiter.

   Birds that are called the 'Medium Sulphur-crested Cockatoo' are generally the Eleanora Cockatoo Cacatua galerita eleonora, a subspecies of Greater Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, though in earlier writings this term sometimes referred to larger individuals of the Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo.

Care and feeding:

   A roomy cage is required unless the bird is to be let out for extended periods. Many birds can spend most of their time on a play pen or parrot perch.

   In the wild they eat seeds, berries, nuts, fruits and probably vegetable matter. They eat a variety of seeds, nuts, fruits, and commercial pellets, as well as the same nutritional foods humans eat

Social Behaviors:

   In the wild Cockatoos are friendly and peaceful. They live in pairs or small flocks though sometimes they will gather in very large flocks to feed.

   They enjoy and require a lot of affection and attention. It is often recommended that they be kept in pairs so they will keep each other company. This can help to reduce the amount of time you will have to devote to an individual bird.

Sexual differences:

   Hard to tell the sex of young birds. As they get older the iris of the females' eyes will develop a reddish color, he males' eyes will be dark brown to black.

Potential Problems:

   Cockatoos can be quite loud screechers. This behavior can be reduced by giving attention and by proper surroundings. Also, since they are prone to chewing, if they are not given enough attention they will chew their own feathers.

Availability:

These birds are becoming readily available.

Activities:

Loves to climb and play and chew. Provide lots of toys.