Cockatiel

The Cockatiel is the smallest member of the cockatoo family, native to the dry interior and open woodlands of Australia. It is instantly recognizable by its long, pointed crest, which it raises and lowers to express mood, and by the contrast between its otherwise grey body and its brighter facial markings. Highly nomadic in the wild, it moves in flocks tracking food and water across the arid interior.

Body feathers are soft grey overall, with a prominent white to pale yellow patch on the wing coverts that shows clearly both at rest and in flight. The crest consists of elongated, narrow grey feathers on the crown that can be raised into a point or flattened close to the head. Males show a bright yellow face and forehead with a distinct orange patch on the cheek, while the tail is long, tapered, and grey with darker barring visible on the underside in females. Wing and tail feathers are relatively soft-textured compared with larger cockatoos, reflecting the bird's smaller, more lightly built frame.

Males show a bright yellow face and crest with a vivid orange cheek patch, while females have a duller grey-brown face with a muted cheek patch and show fine yellow barring on the underside of the tail, a pattern males lack once mature. Juveniles resemble females regardless of sex, with young males gradually developing the yellow face and bright cheek patch over their first year through successive molts.

Cockatiels inhabit open woodland, scrubland, and grassland across the arid and semi-arid interior of Australia, generally near watercourses and seasonal wetlands. The species is nomadic, moving in flocks in response to rainfall, food availability, and water rather than following a set migratory path, though some populations show more regular seasonal movement patterns.

Cockatiels forage on the ground and in low vegetation for grass and other seeds, often in flocks that can number in the hundreds where food is abundant. They nest in tree hollows, typically near water. Calls include a range of whistled and chattering notes used for flock contact, along with a distinctive rolling contact call given in flight. They are strong, fast fliers capable of covering long distances between food and water sources.