Citron-crested cockatoo

The citron-crested cockatoo (Cacatua citrinocristata) is a medium-sized cockatoo with an orange crest, dark grey beak, pale orange ear patches, and strong feet and claws. The underside of the larger wing and tail feathers have a pale yellow color. The eyelid color is a very light blue. Both sexes are similar. Females have a copper colored eye where as the male has a very dark black eye.

Citron-crested cockatoo
Cock
Hen
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Psittaciformes
Family:	Cacatuidae
Genus:	Cacatua
Species:	C. citrinocristata
Binomial name
Cacatua citrinocristata (Fraser, 1844)
Synonyms
Cacatua sulphurea citrinocristata

They are endemic to Sumba in the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia. The diet consists mainly of seeds, buds, fruits, nuts and herbaceous plants.

In 2022, Birdlife International recognized the citron-crested cockatoo as a separate species, Cacatua citrinocristata, assessed as Critically Endangered,^[2] while the International Ornithological Congress designated it to be a species in 2023.^[3]

Conservation status

Chick at Děčín Zoo, Czech Republic

The citron-crested cockatoo is a critically endangered bird whose population has declined due to habitat loss and illegal trapping for the cage-bird trade. A 1993 survey of Sumba estimated the species' numbers at less than 2,000 individuals.^[4] By 2012, the estimate had dropped to 563, and as of 2019 the population numbers are estimated to be 1,200-2,000 individuals with 800-1,320 mature individuals.^[1] It is listed in appendix I of the CITES list.^[5] Consequently, international trade is strongly regulated and trade in wild caught citron-crested cockatoos is illegal.

References

1. BirdLife International (2021). "Citron-crested Cockatoo". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T200296433A201545199. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T200296433A201545199.en. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
2. "BirdLife International (2022) Species factsheet: Cacatua citrinocristata". Birdlife International. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
3. "Parrots, cockatoos". IOC World Bird List. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
4. Cahill, Alexis J.; Walker, Jonathan S. & Marsden, Stuart J. (April 2006). "Recovery within a population of the Critically Endangered citron-crested cockatoo Cacatua sulphurea citrinocristata in Indonesia after 10 years of international trade control" (PDF). Oryx. 40 (2): 161–167. doi:10.1017/S0030605306000366. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-02.
5. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Archived 2012-03-16 at the Wayback Machine, Thirteenth Meeting of the Conferences of the Parties Bangkok, Thailand, 3 to 14 October 2004.

External links

• Royal Society for the Protection of Birds website - threats to wild bird populations