They are acknowledged for their important part in the cycle of birth, death and rebirth of plants in the landscape. Latest Articles:įinland records all-time high in Red-flanked Bluebirdsġ5 Best Birding Apps to Download Today (iOS & Android)įor Aboriginal Australians, the Cockatoos are treated with great respect. They remain an iconic Australian bird and are seen to represent the familiar gregarious, fun-loving, comedic character associated with Australians. They are thought to understand deeply the nature of life and death and are revered by Indigenous people for their role in landscape regeneration. In present times however, there is a lot of hostility towards Cockatoos who are seen as a pest that decimate crops. They represent the element of fire and are believed to accompany the deceased to the afterlife. The Cockatoo family is linked with both masculine and feminine energies of creation have been a strong part of traditional mythologies. On this pageĬockatoo Native Australian Aboriginal Symbolism Undoubtedly, this all this demonstrates their incredible intelligence, so much so that parrot experts are particularly excited by the mind behind those wise eyes of the Cockatoo – suggesting that they may even have the rough intelligence of a 1-2 year old human child. A domestic Cockatoo deprived of interaction with their owner can lead to behaviour akin to self-harm – whereby they may pluck out their own feathers until they are left bare. Most importantly, a Cockatoo in a cage is akin to a person in solitary confinement and will develop extremely difficult behavioural traits if left unstimulated by its domestic surroundings. They have also been known to learn how to undo the latches of their cages, exhibiting their great intelligence. They are notoriously persistent shriekers and don’t take no for an answer. If this kind of unconditional love sounds appealing to you, you might want to consider other characteristics of the Cockatoo. They develop a very strong bond with their owners and due to their high level of intelligence, they can even be quite demanding of affection and interaction. When they are kept as pet birds they are extremely loyal. They have the capacity of mimicry – able to repeat human speech and can live up to an incredibly old age, even 80 or 90 years is possible! ( 2) Despite grave destruction of many of their native foraging grounds and nesting sites, some species have adapted by learning how to forage for agricultural cereal grains and even the exotic pine tree cones. ( 1)Ĭockatoos are very social, noisy and unreserved birds and often travel in large flocks. The nature of their habitat ranges from semi-arid to the wet tropics. While some species of Cockatoo are considered endangered, like the Yellow-Crested Cockatoo, others like the Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo are quite common, even in many urban areas. There are approximately 21 species of Cockatoo and they are all endemic to the Australasian region, including in Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea and other islands, while 14 species are found exclusively in Australia. For the Indigenous people and more broadly, Cockatoos represent illumination – the sentinel guard and guide through darkness they speak of commitment to partnerships and to the importance of the safety of one’s group and they represent comedic relief with the spark that mischief and curiosity bring to life! Cockatoos are in fact a family of parrots called Cacatuidae that are uniquely identifiable by the head crest of feathers, used as a communicative device to other Cockatoos by standing erect when angry or excited.Ĭockatoos are an important animal in the Australian Indigenous people’s mythology, acknowledged for their important part in the cycle of birth, death and rebirth of plants in the landscape. The Cockatoo is an iconic bird known for its sociability, gregariousness and high intelligence and are some of noisiest characters in the Australian bush.
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