The salmon-crested cockatoo (''Cacatua moluccensis''), also known as the Moluccan cockatoo, is a

cockatoo A cockatoo is any of the 21 parrot species belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea (true parrots) and the Strigopoidea (large New Zealand parrots), they make up the orde ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Seram Seram (formerly spelled Ceram; also Seran or Serang) is the largest and main island of Maluku province of Indonesia, despite Ambon Island's historical importance. It is located just north of the smaller Ambon Island and a few other adjacent is ...

archipelago in eastern

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. At a height of up to and weight of up to , it is among the largest of the white

s. The female is slightly smaller than the male on average. It has white-pink feathers with a definite peachy glow, a slight yellow on the underwing and underside of the tail feathers and a large retractable recumbent

crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings *The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York *Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...

which it raises when threatened, revealing hitherto concealed bright red-orange plumes to frighten potential attackers. It may also be raised in excitement or in other 'emotional' displays. Some describe the crest as "flamingo-colored". It also has one of the louder calls in the parrot world and in captivity is a capable

mimic MIMIC, known in capitalized form only, is a former simulation computer language developed 1964 by H. E. Petersen, F. J. Sansom and L. M. Warshawsky of Systems Engineering Group within the Air Force Materiel Command at the Wright-Patterson AFB in ...

. In the wild the salmon-crested cockatoo inhabits lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s below 1000 m. The diet consists mainly of

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s, nuts and

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

, as well as

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

s. There is additional evidence that they eat

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s off the ground, and pet Moluccan cockatoos have tested positive for

anemia Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, th ...

if their diet does not include enough

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

Distribution and habitat

The salmon-crested cockatoo is

to the

archipelago in eastern

and has been introduced to the Hawaiian island of Oahu, where a small population has become established. Although they have been observed in the wild in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, they are probably the result of escaped pets, and no reproduction has been recorded.

Status in the wild

The salmon-crested cockatoo is a

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, ...

, and has been listed on appendix I of

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

since 1989, which makes commercial international trade in wild-caught birds prohibited. Trade in captive bred birds is legal only with appropriate CITES certification. Numbers have declined due to illegal trapping for the cage-bird trade and

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. During the height of the trapping of this species over 6,000 birds were being removed from the wild per year. It has a stronghold in

Manusela National Park Manusela National Park is located on Seram island, in the Maluku archipelago of Indonesia. It is made up of coastal forest, swamp forest, lowland and montane rainforest ecosystem types. Mount Binaiya at 3,027 meters, is the highest of the park's ...

, although even today some illegal trapping continues.

Aviculture

Cacatua moluccensis -Kuala Lumpur Bird Park-8b

The salmon-crested cockatoo can no longer be imported into the United States because it is listed on the Wild Bird Conservation Act. However, they are being bred in captivity. They are popular for their beauty and trainability (which makes them popular in trained bird shows). The salmon-crested cockatoo is widely considered to be one of the most demanding parrots to keep as a pet due to their high intelligence, large size, potential noise level (it is one of the loudest birds in the world, with calls up to 129 decibels), and need to chew. Moluccan cockatoos require a very large and very sturdy cage or aviary. Salmon-crested cockatoos are highly social and pets can be extremely cuddly, affectionate, and gentle birds. This can lead to problems if a young cockatoo is spoiled with a great deal of attention and cuddling when young and does not get the opportunity to learn to play with toys, forage, or otherwise entertain itself. Salmon-crested cockatoos require a great deal of attention and activity to remain healthy and well-adjusted. Attention and training from human caregivers is important in keeping them occupied, as are chewable toys and foraging toys that require them to work for their food. As with most large cockatoos, the salmon-crested cockatoo may develop health and behavioural problems such as

feather-plucking Feather-plucking, sometimes termed feather-picking, feather damaging behaviour or pterotillomania, is a maladaptive, behavioural disorder commonly seen in captive birds that chew, bite or pluck their own feathers with their beak, resulting in d ...

and aggression if not provided with the appropriate environment, attention and enrichment opportunities. In captivity, the salmon-crested cockatoo has been known to live for an extremely long time, with a captive individual mentioned in a 2011 paper having lived to the age of 92 years.

Breeding

Moluccan cockatoos breed once a year, usually between December and March, when vegetation growth is at its peak and food is readily available.

Gallery

File:Cacatua moluccensis excited.jpg, Salmon-crested cockatoo displaying (wings clipped) File:Cacatua moluccensis - closeup of head.jpg, Closeup of head and crest File:Moluccan cockatoo 31l07.JPG, In Tropical Birdland, Leicestershire, England File:Cacatua moluccensis -profile -head-8a.jpg File:Salmon-crested cockatoo in Sawai.jpg, In Sawai, Seram Island

References

External links

World Parrot Trust
Parrot Encyclopedia – Species Profiles
ARKive – images and movies of the salmon-crested cockatoo ''(Cacatua moluccensis)''
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20061013150723/http://www.rdb.or.id/detailbird.php?id=46 Red Data Bookbr>Moluccan Cockatoo photo on Pc-ZooProject Bird Watch & eco-tourism development in Indonesiion Islands9 Steps To Avoid “Unwanted Cockatoo Syndrome”
{{Taxonbar, from=Q735231

salmon-crested cockatoo The salmon-crested cockatoo (''Cacatua moluccensis''), also known as the Moluccan cockatoo, is a cockatoo endemic to the Seram archipelago in eastern Indonesia. At a height of up to and weight of up to , it is among the largest of the white co ...

Birds of Seram Talking birds