Yellow-Tailed Black-Cockatoo - Calyptorhynchus lathami

Yellow-Tailed Black-Cockatoo

Calyptorhynchus lathami

Family: Cacatuidae (Cockatoos, 14 species in Australia)
Size: 56-66 cm
Distribution: Within about 150 km of the coast of NSW, VIC, eastern SA and southern QLD, all of TAS
Status: Common
Habitat: Open forests, farms, pines
References: Simpson and Day, Reader's Digest

A common bird in the Blue Mountains, particularly in the upper mountains. It has a yellow patch on the side of its head, and yellow under the tail. The Red-Tailed Black-Cockatoo is not generally found in the Blue Mountains and does not have a coloured patch on the side of its head.

It has a screeching call that sounds a lot like an eagle or other bird of prey.

Yellow-Tailed Black-Cockatoo - Calyptorhynchus lathami
Photo: Featherdale Wildlife Park, Sydney NSW. High Resolution (1828 x 1776)

Yellow-Tailed Black-Cockatoo - Calyptorhynchus lathami
Artwork: John Gould, 'The Birds of Australia', 1848. Original Scanned Image.

Some Birdwatching Resources

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, Graham Pizzey and Frank Knight. This is the other of the two best bird field guides for Australia. It is the one preferred by many serious birdwatchers. However I find the pictures a bit dull looking for my taste — the birds all kind of look the same to me, making it harder to remember them in my mind. The illustrations are meant to be the most anatomically correct, though. The text descriptions are better than in Simpson and Day. If you want the most serious bird field guide get this one otherwise get Simpson and Day.

Purchase 9th ed. from Australia (Booktopia)

Purchase 9th ed. from Australia (Angus & Robertson)

Click here to purchase 9th ed. from Australia (The Nile)

Click here to purchase from Australia (Fishpond)

Click here to preorder the 9th ed. from Amazon

Birdsong, Don Stap. From the promotional material: "Following one of the world's experts on birdsong from the woods of Martha's Vineyard to the tropical forests of Central America, Don Stap brings to life the quest to unravel an ancient mystery: Why do birds sing and what do their songs mean? We quickly discover that one question leads to another. Why does the chestnut-sided warbler sing one song before dawn and another after sunrise? Why does the brown thrasher have a repertoire of two thousand songs when the chipping sparrow has only one? And how is the hermit thrush able to sing a duet with itself, producing two sounds simultaneously to create its beautiful, flutelike melody?"

Purchase from Australia (Booktopia)

Click here to purchase from Australia (Fishpond)

Click here to purchase from Wilderness Awareness School $24.00 USD (May not work)

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