Western Corella

The western corella (Cacatua pastinator) also known as the western long-billed corella, is a species of white cockatoo endemic to south-western Australia. == Taxonomy == Cacatuidae is one of three families of the large and diverse avian order Psittaciformes which consists of 370 species. Cockatoos are distinguished from other parrots by five main morphological features – a crest, lack of "green" dyck-texture in the plumage, yellow natal down, a gall bladder, and bridge temporal fossa The western corella (also known as the western long-billed corella) Cacatua pastinator consists of two geographically isolated sub-species, Butler's corella (Cacatua pastinator butleri) and Muir's corella (Cacatua pastinator pastinator) One of these two isolated populations occurs in the northern wheat-belt region of Southwest Australia, the other, consisting of larger birds occurs in the far south west of Western Australia. The northern Cacatua pastinator butleri consists of generally of smaller birds than the southern Cacatua pastinator pastinator, which indicates that the two populations may have once been connected clinally. The Australian Faunal Directory, citing a classification by Johann Georg Wagler of genus Licmetis, recognises this species within a subgeneric arrangement as Cacatua (Licmetis) pastinator as determined in a revision published in 1987. Two subspecies are recognised…