Salmon-Crested Cockatoo

Cacatua moluccensis

The salmon-crested cockatoo, Cacatua moluccensis, is also widely known as the Moluccan cockatoo. It is a large Indonesian cockatoo from Seram and nearby islands in Maluku, with a pale pink-white body, a warm peach wash, and a broad salmon-colored crest that fans forward when the bird is excited or alarmed. Like other white cockatoos, it has a powerful black beak, powder-down plumage, and an intensely social nature. Wild birds use forest canopy, edges, and cultivated areas, feeding on seeds, nuts, fruits, and other plant material.

In aviculture, this is one of the most demanding companion parrots rather than a casual cage bird. Salmon-crested cockatoos can live for decades, bond strongly, scream at extreme volume, and destroy weak perches, toys, and household woodwork. Successful keeping usually means a very large enclosure or bird room, daily supervised activity, foraging work, bathing, and a diet based on quality pellets and varied vegetables with fatty seeds and nuts limited. International trade is tightly controlled, so buyers should look for legal captive-bred birds and be prepared for rescue or rehoming challenges if social needs are not met.