FaunaHub
CRCritically EndangeredPartial review

Yellow-crested Cockatoo

Cacatua sulphurea

Yellow-crested cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea), a white cockatoo with a yellow crest.

Yellow-crested cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea).

Image: Christoph Moning, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

At a glance

IUCN category
CR · Critically Endangered
Animal group
Birds
Population trend
Decreasing
Last verified

Conservation overview

The yellow-crested cockatoo is a white cockatoo with a bright yellow crest, found on islands of Indonesia and Timor-Leste. It is assessed as Critically Endangered.

Heavy trapping for the pet trade has caused steep declines.

Range & habitat

Islands of Indonesia and Timor-Leste.

Major threats

Threats below are drawn from the authoritative sources listed on this page. For the current, complete assessment, see the IUCN Red List.

  • Trapping for the cage-bird trade
  • Habitat loss

Why it matters

A dazzling island parrot devastated by the cage-bird trade, the yellow-crested cockatoo is a flagship for tackling the songbird and parrot trade in Southeast Asia.

Gallery

A yellow-crested cockatoo raising its crest.

Yellow-crested cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea).

Image: NasserHalaweh, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources

Sources for Yellow-crested Cockatoo

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the yellow-crested cockatoo Critically Endangered?
Published assessments cite intense trapping for the cage-bird trade together with habitat loss across its island range. See the IUCN Red List for the current assessment.
How is it different from other white cockatoos?
It is smaller than the better-known sulphur-crested cockatoo and has a distinctive yellow (or orange, in one subspecies) crest.

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