Goliath cockatoo, Great black cockatoo
The Palm cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus) is a large parrot of the cockatoo family native to New Guinea, Aru Islands, and Cape York Peninsula. "Palm cockatoo" has been designated the official name by the International Ornithological Committee (IOC). The species was named the "Goliath Aratoo" in Wood's Natural History (1862). It is also sometimes given the misnomer "black macaw" in aviculture although the macaws are unrelated New World parrots.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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FrugivoreA frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts, and seeds. Approx...
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ArborealArboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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ZoochoryZoochory animals are those that can disperse plant seeds in several ways. Seeds can be transported on the outside of vertebrate animals (mostly mam...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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TerritorialA territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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MonogamyMonogamy is a form of relationship in which both the male and the female has only one partner. This pair may cohabitate in an area or territory for...
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FlockingFlocking birds are those that tend to gather to forage or travel collectively. Avian flocks are typically associated with migration. Flocking also ...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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Coal BlackThe Palm cockatoo is a black or smoky-gray parrot from the cockatoo family. It has a distinctive appearance, having a large crest and one of the biggest beaks of any parrot, a beak unusual in itself, as the upper and lower mandibles do not meet along much of the length, which allows the bird’s tongue to hold a nut in place against its top mandible while its lower mandible does the work to open it. Between the eyes and the beak, there is a patch of bare skin, red in color. There is also a distinctive red patch on the cheek that changes color if the bird is excited or alarmed. In young birds, their underfeathers are lined with pale yellow, and in birds under the age of 18 months, the tip of the beak and the ring around the eye are white.
The Palm cockatoo inhabits New Guinea and northern Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula, and also an area near Sorong in West Papua. They occur in rainforests, such as gallery forests, forest edges, eucalypt and paperbark woodlands, monsoon woodlands, dense savannas and partly cleared areas. They choose big trees for roosting and nesting.
Palm cockatoos are found alone, in pairs, or in larger groups. Sometimes they stay quite close to their nesting sites, but they can travel a long way to search for food or water. A few trees for nesting sites are included within their territory. They visit these sites during the year for a variety of reasons, increasing the visiting frequency in the breeding season. Often they feed in big groups, one "sentinel" bird watching out for predators. Should a predator or another threat appear, the “sentinel” makes an alarm cry to warn the flock. These cockatoos are highly social birds, gathering early in the day in groups in their favorite locations to spend time interacting and preening. They roost during the day near sources of food or water and at night they roost in or near a nest tree. During the rain, they can be found, as if taking a shower, hanging upside down, stretching out their wings and tails. The vocalizations of Palm cockatoos are similar to those of most wild parrots, but they have also been shown to produce a variety of additional syllables in display and exchange with neighboring individuals. These additional syllables are mainly produced by males and are often combined to form long, complex sequences. When alarmed, they make a sharp, harsh screech. They also make grunts, mournful/wailing cries, screeches, whistles, and other noises.
Palm cockatoos are herbivores (frugivores). Their diet consists mostly of wild-growing pandanus palm fruit and nuts from the kanari tree. They may also eat fruit from Darwin stringy bark, Eucalyptus tetradonta, and nonda tree, as well as seeds from the cocky apple tree, beach almond, and black bean tree.
Palm cockatoos are monogamous and pairs stay together for life. Breeding usually takes place from August to January but can vary with the local climate. These birds are not able to excavate nesting cavities, so they make use of cavities that have been hollowed out in big trees, such as palms. Year after year the same site is often used. Palm cockatoos lay a single egg per clutch, and incubation is carried out by both parents for between 30 and 33 days. Chicks fledge in 100 to 110 days, the longest fledgling period of any parrot. Once it has left the nest, the fledgling is dependent on its parents for at least 6 more weeks, due to its inability to fly. Then the young bird will have reached independence but will remain relatively close to its parents until the next mating season. Young birds become reproductively mature at the age of 7 to 8 years.
The Palm cockatoo is under threat by habitat loss through logging and seasonal fires, which each year destroy their nest trees in significant numbers. In New Guinea they are hunted, being in high demand for sale in the pet trade because of their unusual appearance.
According to the IUCN Red List, the global population size of the Palm cockatoo has not been quantified, but the species is still recorded relatively commonly and appears to have a large overall population. P. a. macgillivrayi, one of the four recognized subspecies, is believed to have a stable population of 3,000 individuals. Palm cockatoos are classified as Least Concern (LC) on the list of threatened species but their numbers are decreasing.
Palm cockatoos play a part in seed dispersal for the many fruit-bearing trees of which they eat the fruit.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...