![]() ![]() They require large trees for nesting and roosting. They are the only cockatoo species adapted to tropical rainforest habitat. Habitat/range: Probosciger aterrimus is found only on the Cape York Peninsula of northern Australia, the Aru Islands, Papua New Guinea and other surrounding smaller islands. Parents share the incubation of the egg, which lasts approximately 30 days. The same nest is often used by the pair each year. Breeding normally occurs during October, November and December (spring to early summer). Reproduction: Palm cockatoos build their nests in the hollows of trees. Each of the calls allows them to stay in contact with or to locate one another. They also have whistles, grunts and cries. They make a harsh screeching call when they feel threatened and they will call to one another as the sun rises. Much time is spent preening or interacting.ĭiet: They feed on fruit, nuts, berries, seeds and buds of leaves.Ĭommunication: Palm cockatoos have several different calls. One bird stands guard to alert the groups of a predator or danger approaches. Their wingspans are between 27.5-39 inches (70-100 cm).īehavior: Probosciger aterrimus are very social birds, usually seen in pairs, small groups, but often feeding in large groups. Size: Palm cockatoos are large birds, standing 19- 27 inches (49-68 cm) and weighing between one to two pounds (0.45 -0.9 kg). The color ranges from off-white to burgundy, depending on stress level and/or general health. A red, naked facial marking is located just to the sides of the beak. The legs are grayish-black with some feathers on the thighs. The feathers have a powder down, which dulls the beak and adds a gray color to the black plumage. They have a backward curving erectile crest and a massive upper mandible (top portion of the beak) that is larger in males than in females. Morphology using a recommended set of measurements gives a fairly reliable insight into the subspecies identity for a newly introduced palm cockatoo, but testing mtDNA is highly recommended to confirm the correct subspecies determination.Description: Palm cockatoos are the only cockatoo with all dark feathers. aterrimus continue to be managed as two separate breeding populations. Therefore to preserve these two different conservation units we advise that P. These results allowed us to confirm that the captive population of palm cockatoos consists of two distinct genetic subgroups, which overall match with morphotypes. A stepwise discriminant analysis, which included one criterion for females and two criteria for males, allowed a correct assignation of 95% on average for our sample. Morphometric analyses revealed significant differences between the two subspecies, although there was some overlap between values for P. Ten different haplotypes were found over 54 non-related samples, which could be arranged into two groups consistent with the subspecies P. We also collected several anatomical measurements in order to compare the morphology with the molecular marker and to assess the presumed link between morphology and subspecies. This study aimed at first to determine the subspecies of 78 captive palm cockatoos – mainly members of the EEP population – by sequencing a mitochondrial marker which had proved relevant for wild specimens. ![]() Until recently a captive palm cockatoo was assigned to one or the other subspecies relying solely on morphology, P. ![]() aterrimus, separately since it was found that only these two subspecies were distinct genetic lineages. The European breeding programme (EEP) for palm cockatoos Probosciger aterrimus has managed two subspecies, P. ZooParc de Beauval, Association Beauval Conservation et Recherche ![]() 2 av du Général Maistre, 75014 Paris, France ![]()
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