The Mathews cockatoo or northern sulphur-crested cockatoo (''Cacatua galerita fitzroyi'') is a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the

sulphur-crested cockatoo The sulphur-crested cockatoo (''Cacatua galerita'') is a relatively large white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia, New Guinea, and some of the islands of Indonesia. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being ...

. Its scientific name relates to the area in which it was first found, the Fitzroy River and its common name comes from

Gregory Mathews Gregory Macalister Mathews Order of the British Empire, CBE FRSE FZS FLS (10 September 1876 – 27 March 1949) was an Australian-born amateur ornithologist who spent most of his later life in England. Life He was born in Biamble, New South Wal ...

, the Australian

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

who first identified it as a subspecies in 1912.

Characteristics

It is white, with a significantly long yellow crest. This subspecies differs from the

greater sulphur-crested cockatoo The greater sulphur-crested cockatoo (''Cacatua galerita galerita'') is the nominate subspecies of the sulphur-crested cockatoo. It is native to eastern Australia from Cape York to Tasmania, and has been introduced to places like Indonesia, an ...

(''Cacatua galerita galerita'') in that they have a pale blue eye ring instead of white, the yellow feathers are slightly darker, and the crest feathers are longer.

Distribution

It is distributed between the Fitzroy River and the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...

of North Australia. It is also common to Melville Island and some of the larger islands off the northern coast of Australia. During the 1930s the birds were released in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

region, where there is now a considerable population.

References

Mathews cockatoo Birds of Australia Mathews cockatoo {{parrot-stub