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The gang-gang cockatoo (''Callocephalon fimbriatum'') is a parrot found in the cooler and wetter forests and woodlands of
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, particularly
alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...
bushland In Australia, bushland is a blanket term for land which supports remnant vegetation or land which is disturbed but still retains a predominance of the original floristics and structure. Human survival in bushland has a whole mythology evolving ...
. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Callocephalon''. Mostly mild grey in colour with some lighter scalloping (more pronounced and buffy in females), the male has a red head and
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 ...
, while the female has a small fluffy grey crest. It ranges throughout south-eastern Australia. The gang-gang cockatoo is the faunal emblem of the Australian Capital Territory. It is easily identified by its distinctive call, which is described as resembling a creaky gate, or the sound of a
cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
being pulled from a wine bottle. The name ''gang-gang'' comes from a New South Wales
Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...
language, probably from one of the coastal languages, although possibly from Wiradjuri. It is probably an onomatopoeic name.


Taxonomy

In 1803 the British Royal Navy officer
James Grant James Grant may refer to: Politics and law *Sir James Grant, 1st Baronet (died 1695), Scottish lawyer *Sir James Grant, 6th Baronet (1679–1747), Scottish Whig politician *Sir James Grant, 8th Baronet (1738–1811), Scottish member of parliament * ...
included an illustration of the gang-gang cockatoo in his book describing a voyage to the
colony of New South Wales The Colony of New South Wales was a colony of the British Empire from 1788 to 1901, when it became a State of the Commonwealth of Australia. At its greatest extent, the colony of New South Wales included the present-day Australian states of New ...
in Australia. Grant coined the
binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
''Psittacus fimbriatus''. The gang-gang cockatoo is now the only species placed in the genus '' Callocephalon'' that was introduced in 1837 by the French naturalist
René Lesson René-Primevère Lesson (20 March 1794 – 28 April 1849) was a French surgeon, naturalist, ornithologist, and herpetologist. Biography Lesson was born at Rochefort, and entered the Naval Medical School in Rochefort at the age of sixteen. He ...
. The type locality is the Bass River in the state of Victoria. The specific epithet is from Latin ''fimbriata '' meaning "fringed". The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ''kallos'' meaning "beauty" and ''kephalē'' meaning "head". The species is monotypic: no
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 ...
are recognised. The classification of the gang-gang cockatoo has always been controversial due to the unusual appearance and coloration of the bird, especially its
sexual dichromatism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...
. The gang-gang cockatoo was thought to be a distinctive early offshoot of the Calyptorhynchinae (black) cockatoos. However, more recent molecular phylogenetic analysis places it in the Cacatuinae clade, not the Calyptorhynchinae, and having diverged from the
palm cockatoo The palm cockatoo (''Probosciger aterrimus''), also known as the goliath cockatoo or great black cockatoo, is a large smoky-grey or black parrot of the cockatoo family native to New Guinea, Aru Islands, and Cape York Peninsula. It has a very l ...
(''Probosciger aterrimus'').


Description

The gang-gang cockatoo is a grey bird with a wispy crest. The head and crest is bright red in males, but dark grey in females. The edges of feathers in underparts have edges of yellow or pink. The edges of feathers on upperarts are slightly paler grey than the rest of the feather, which makes the bird look somewhat barred. Juvenile males can be distinguished by their brighter crowns and shorter crests, but otherwise look similar to the adult female. The birds are not easily mistaken for other cockatoos, but while in flight may resemble the
Galah The galah (; ''Eolophus roseicapilla''), also known as the pink and grey cockatoo or rose-breasted cockatoo, is the only species within genus ''Eolophus'' of the cockatoo family. Found throughout Australia, it is among the most common of the co ...
. Gang-gangs are very social birds, but not overly noisy.


Distribution and habitat

The gang-gang is endemic to coastal regions of south-eastern Australia. They used to inhabit
King Island King Island, Kings Island or King's Island may refer to: Australia * King Island (Queensland) * King Island, at Wellington Point, Queensland * King Island (Tasmania) ** King Island Council, the local government area that contains the Tasmanian is ...
off of Tasmania, but they have since gone extinct locally. They are an introduced species on Kangaroo Island. The gang-gang prefers forests and woodlands in the mountains with dense shrub understories. The birds migrate short distances during winter into more open habitats. They must migrate back to denser forests to breed, as they need tall trees in order to build nests.


Behaviour and ecology

Unlike most other cockatoos, gang-gangs nest in young, solid trees, the females using their strong beaks to excavate nesting cavities. Also, they breed in the canopy of most trees.


Status

Loss of older, hollow trees and loss of feeding habitat across south-eastern Australia through land clearing has led to a significant reduction in the numbers of this cockatoo in recent years. As a result, the gang-gang is now listed as vulnerable in New South Wales. It is protected as a vulnerable species under the ''Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016'' (NSW). This protection status as a threatened species makes it a Tier 1 criminal offence for a person or corporation to knowingly damage the bird's habitat. Damage is defined to include "damage caused by removing any part of the habitat". Habitat is defined to include "an area periodically or occasionally occupied by a species". In July 2021, an Australian Department of the Environment and Energy spokesperson stated the population has declined by approximately 69% in the last three generations, or 21 years and in addition to this decline, the species has suffered direct mortality and habitat loss during the
2019–20 Australian bushfire season The 201920 Australian bushfire season (Black Summer), was a period of bushfires in many parts of Australia, which, due to its unusual intensity, size, duration, and uncontrollable dimension, is considered a megafire. The Australian National ...
. Between 28 to 36 per cent of the species' distribution was impacted by the fires. As a result, it is set to be listed as endangered under the threatened fauna of Australia.


Gallery

File:Female_Gang_Gang_Cockatoo.jpg, A female gang-gang cockatoo eating peppercorns File:Callocephalon fimbriatum (male) -Blue Mountains-8.jpg, Male in the Blue Mountains File:Gang-Gang-male444.jpg, Male eating '' Acacia baileyana'' seeds Callocephalon fimbriatum (pair) -NSW -Australia-8.jpg, Two immature birds at New Buildings, NSW, Australia: The male is on the left and the female on the right.


References

*


External links


Gang-gang Cockatoo Species Profile
a
World Parrot Trust Parrot Encyclopedia
*
Gang-gang cockatoo on the Atlas of Living Australia
* * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q748861
gang-gang cockatoo The gang-gang cockatoo (''Callocephalon fimbriatum'') is a parrot found in the cooler and wetter forests and woodlands of Australia, particularly alpine bushland. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Callocephalon''. Mostly mild grey in ...
Birds of Victoria (Australia) Endemic birds of Australia
gang-gang cockatoo The gang-gang cockatoo (''Callocephalon fimbriatum'') is a parrot found in the cooler and wetter forests and woodlands of Australia, particularly alpine bushland. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Callocephalon''. Mostly mild grey in ...