White Cockatoo
Cacatua alba
Often called the umbrella cockatoo, the white cockatoo (Cacatua alba) is a large white parrot native to the North Maluku islands of Indonesia. Its broad backward-curving crest opens like a fan when the bird is alert, excited, or defensive. Adults have a dark bill, powdery white plumage, pale bluish eye skin, and a yellow wash on the undersides of the wings and tail. In the wild it uses forest edges, mangroves, and cultivated areas, feeding on seeds, nuts, fruit, and other plant material while nesting in tree cavities.
Captive white cockatoos are kept in aviculture and by experienced companion-bird homes, but they are demanding, long-lived parrots with loud calls and a strong need to chew, forage, and interact. Large housing, clean air, frequent bathing opportunities, and a diet based on formulated pellets, vegetables, greens, and measured seeds or nuts are more suitable than seed-only feeding. They produce feather dust and can develop feather-damaging behavior when bored or socially stressed. Because wild capture and trade have affected the species, buyers and breeders should expect documentation for legally held, captive-bred birds.
