Yellow-crested Cockatoo

The yellow-crested cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea) also known as the lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo, is a medium-sized (about 34-cm-long) cockatoo with white plumage, bluish-white bare orbital skin, grey feet, a black bill, and a retractile yellow or orange crest. The sexes are similar. The yellow-crested cockatoo is found in wooded and cultivated areas of East Timor and Indonesia's islands of Sulawesi and the Lesser Sundas. It is easily confused with the larger and more common sulphur-crested cockatoo, which has a more easterly distribution and can be distinguished by the lack of pale yellow coloring on its cheeks (although some sulphur-cresteds develop yellowish patches). Also, the yellow-crested cockatoo's crest is a brighter color, closer to orange. Endemic to Sumba, the citron-crested cockatoo, previously considered a subspecies of the yellow-crested cockatoo, is also similar, but presents with an orange crest. The yellow-crested cockatoo's diet consists mainly of seeds, buds, fruits, nuts, and herbaceous plants. == Taxonomy == In the 18th century, yellow-crested cockatoos were imported into Europe as pets and these birds were described by various naturalists. In 1738 English naturalist Eleazar Albin included a description and illustration of the "Cockatoo or White crested parrot" in his A Natural History of Birds based on…