Red-tailed Black Cockatoo

The Red-tailed Black Cockatoo is a large, wide-ranging Australian cockatoo occurring across forest, woodland, and semi-arid habitats. The species shows marked differences between males and females, with the glossy black, red-tailed male plumage being especially striking in flight.

Male body feathers are uniformly glossy black with little patterning, while the tail feathers carry broad, bright red panels on the outer webs, forming a bold band visible when the tail is fanned in flight. Female body feathers are duller black-brown with numerous fine yellow spots and barring across the body and wing coverts, and the tail shows orange-yellow barring rather than the male's solid red panels. Flight feathers are broad and strong in both sexes, supporting slow, powerful wingbeats. The heavily spotted female plumage can cause confusion with juveniles or with other black cockatoo species, but the barred orange-yellow tail pattern helps confirm identification.

This species shows strong sexual dimorphism, with males glossy black with red tail panels and females duller with extensive yellow spotting and an orange-yellow barred tail. Juveniles resemble females, with young males gradually molting into the glossy black, red-tailed adult plumage over several years. Regional subspecies vary somewhat in size and the extent of red or yellow tail coloring.

Red-tailed Black Cockatoos occupy a broad range of habitats across Australia, including eucalypt forest, woodland, and semi-arid scrub, with different subspecies adapted to different regions. The species is generally sedentary to locally nomadic, moving in response to seasonal food availability such as seeding events.

This species feeds mainly on seeds from eucalypts, casuarinas, and other native trees, extracted using a strong bill, along with some insect larvae. It nests in large tree hollows, often reusing the same site over years. Its call is a loud, rolling or grating note, frequently given in flight. Family groups and flocks can be quite vocal and conspicuous when moving between feeding areas.