bands on their tails. They have strong short bills designed to cope with the hard nuts and seeds that form their diet. There is little difference between the male and female birds apart from bill and eye ring colour. Males have red eye rings and black bills whereas females have grey eye rings and a lighter grey or bone-coloured bills.

Where do they live? Carnaby’s black-cockatoos are found in southwest Australia from the Murchison River across to Esperance and inland to Coorow and Lake Cronin. They are commonly seen in some areas such as the coastal plain to the north of Perth and some areas of the northern Wheatbelt. Carnaby’s black-cockatoos are locally extinct in others, such as in Introduction many parts of the central Wheatbelt. Conservation status Carnaby’s black-cockatoos are found In the Wheatbelt during the nesting Australian Government: only in Western Australia and are one of only two species of white-tailed season Carnaby’s black-cockatoos endangered black-cockatoo found anywhere in occur in uncleared or remnant eucalypt Environment Protection and woodlands, predominately salmon Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 the world. The other is Baudin’s black- cockatoo. Both of these species gum or white gum (wandoo). They feed Western Australia: are unique to southwest Australia. in heathland called Kwongan heath, endangered on different types of banksia, grevillea, Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 Did you know? hakea and dryandra species. They also feed on seeds of eucalyptus species, Carnaby’s black-cockatoo can live and introduced species such as wild for 40 to 50 years in the wild and radish and pines. display strong bonds with their partners throughout their adult life. During the non-nesting season Carnaby’s black-cockatoos What do they look like? predominantly occur in banksia Carnaby’s black-cockatoos are large, woodlands, coastal and near-coastal scrub and forests and introduced Image credit: www.hermonslade.org.au raucous black cockatoos with white patches on their cheeks and white pine trees of the coastal regions.

1930s 1950s 1970s 1990s 2000s 2008+

Tasmanian tiger Pig-footed bandicoot Carnaby’s black-cockatoo Gilbert’s potoroo Flatback turtle What’s going to be EXTINCT EXTINCT endangered critically endangered vulnerable next...? Carnaby’s black-cockatoo Habitat loss With help of local landowners, the life history and ecology Extensive clearing of native bush in community and school children, 40,000 Carnaby’s black-cockatoos are a the Wheatbelt has led to a severe seedlings were planted with an emphasis very mobile species with movements reduction in available nesting and on cockatoo food species such as throughout the year determined by feeding trees. In some cases, nesting banksia, grevillea and hakea. The nesting and feeding needs. From early and feeding areas are too far apart for majority of plants established well, with summer through autumn to winter the the birds to successfully raise chicks. many of the hakea seedlings flowering cockatoos live in higher rainfall coastal The original food sources for Carnaby’s the following year providing a vital food or near coastal areas in large flocks. July black-cockatoos on the Swan Coastal source for the endangered cockatoos. is the beginning of the move back out Plain have been largely replaced by to the Wheatbelt in search of suitable urban development and introduced What you can do nesting hollows. The nesting season pine plantations that form a new food • Protect and conserve known nesting lasts from late winter through spring source for cockatoos. However these and feeding habitat by fencing or and into early summer when the cycle plantations will be removed in the future, excluding stock, protecting woodlands begins again. The female cockatoo lays posing additional conservation problems. against firewood collection, leaving old two eggs every year but usually only one or dead trees standing and ensuring chick is raised. During the incubation Habitat degradation appropriate fire management. period and while the chick is very young Remaining nesting and feeding areas • Protect habitat by controlling the female only leaves the hollow for are becoming degraded due to grazing, weeds and preventing removal of short periods during which time she is water logging, salinity, weed invasion, vegetation and spread of diseases fed by the male. He must find enough storm damage, firewood collection and such as Phytophthora dieback. food during this period to sustain them changes in fire management. There is all. When the chick is older the female a lack of new eucalypt trees growing • Revegetate around known feeding joins in the search for food. to replace dead trees in remaining and nesting habitat with appropriate local species. Up to 12km is a reasonable distance for nesting sites, and some existing cockatoos to fly from the hollow in search nesting hollows are deteriorating. • Become a Birds Australia volunteer. of food and they are assisted in their • Help control competitive species navigation between sites by corridors Competitive species such as galahs and feral honeybees or patches of vegetation. If feeding sites Carnaby’s black-cockatoos face that compete with the cockatoos and nesting trees are too far apart the competition for hollows from other hollow- for the same nesting hollows by male cockatoo is unable to adequately nesting species, particularly the galah, reporting sightings to the Department feed the female and growing chick. western long-billed and little corellas. In of Environment and Conservation. In this case the breeding attempt may addition, feral bees also occupy nesting fail or the chick will be underweight hollows, to the exclusion of cockatoos. • Help the Carnaby’s black-cockatoo when it leaves the nest and less likely by reporting any activities that you to survive. Carnaby’s black-cockatoo Case Study see that are likely to harm them or has been known to go locally extinct In 2003, Cockys for Landcare in their habitat to the Department of in areas where food sources are too the Western Australian Wheatbelt the Environment, Water, Heritage far away from the nesting hollows. embarked on a project to protect and the Arts – Compliance critical habitat for their local flagship and Enforcement Branch. Visit Threats to Carnaby’s species, the Carnaby’s black-cockatoo. www.environment.gov.au/epbc/ black-cockatoo The cockatoos are well known in the compliance/index.html or freecall There are a number of threats that area and use the eucalypt woodlands 1800 110 395 for more information. have contributed to the decline in for breeding during the nesting season. population numbers including habitat The community group wanted to protect Contacts loss and competitive species. It is and conserve remaining native habitat difficult to know how many are left, but for the birds and were successful in TSN Coordinator: Southwest it is known that their populations have obtaining a TSN community grant to Australia Ecoregion, WWF-Australia declined by over 50 per cent in the do so. The project protected important P (08) 9387 6444 past 45 years, and that they no longer feeding habitat in the area by fencing it to E [email protected] breed in up to a third of their former exclude stock, and improved degraded W www.wwf.org.au/tsn breeding sites in the Wheatbelt. habitat through revegetation.

References Birds Australia (WA), http://www.birdswa.com.au/projects/carnaby/Carnabys.htm Cale, B (2003) Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhyncus latirostris) Recovery Plan. Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth