12

Palm Cockatoo (Probisciger aterrimus) Alternate name(s): "Cape York Cockatoo", "Great Palm Cockatoo", "Great Black Cockatoo", "Goliath Cockatoo" Size: 55-60 cm; wing span: 70-100 cm Body mass: 900-1200 g (male), 710-765 g (female) Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.32-0.55

Australia: Family Group 12 Family Group 12 Table Palm Cockatoo Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo Glossy Black-Cockatoo Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo Short-billed Black-Cockatoo Long-billed Black-Cockatoo Gang-gang Cockatoo Long-billed Corella Western Corella Little Corella Cockatiel Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Pink Cockatoo Galah Rainbow Lorikeet Red-collared Lorikeet Scaly-breasted Lorikeet Purple-crowned Lorikeet Varied Lorikeet Musk Lorikeet Little Lorikeet Eclectus Parrot Red-cheeked Parrot Double-eyed Fig-Parrot Australian King-Parrot Red-winged Parrot Princess Parrot Superb Parrot Regent Parrot Green Rosella Crimson Rosella Western Rosella Eastern Rosella Pale-headed Rosella Northern Rosella Red-capped Parrot Australian Ringneck Red-rumped Parrot Mulga Parrot Golden-shouldered Parrot Hooded Parrot Blue Bonnet Bourke's Parrot Budgerigar Swift Parrot Eastern Ground Parrot Night Parrot Blue-winged Parrot Scarlet-chested Parrot Rock Parrot Turquoise Parrot Elegant Parrot Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Thumbnails page Birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Palm Cockatoos are large cockatoos with a prominent brush-like crest. They are the only cockatoos with an all-black plumage. Below the eyes they have a bright-red facial skin patch. They are the only species of black cockatoos in Australia that do NOT have differently coloured undertail panels. Males are larger than females, mostly because they need to be strong to support both themselves and the incubating/brooding female while in or at the nest hollow for 3-4 months. Even when seen together, the birds' size difference may be hard to see. But males have a longer upper mandible than females. The irises are black. The bill, which has an extremely long upper mandible, is dark-grey; legs and feet are also dark-grey. Juveniles have some yellow barring on their lower breast and belly and their red throat patch is duller than that of adults.

Taxonomy, classification See Palm Cockatoo at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Palm Cockatoo is available HERE . Palm Cockatoos are found in an area spanning from North Sulawesi and the Maluku Islands in Indonesia, via low-land West Papua and New Guinea, to far north-eastern Australia. In Australia, their range is restricted to the tip of Cape York peninsula, northward of Cape Melville, in far-North QLD, and occasionally they are also found on some of the islands along Torres Strait. Palm Cockatoos have a strong preference for closed tropical forest and adjacent woodland.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "macgillivrayi" M. Mearns reports spotting a Palm Cockatoo, race HREF="/birds/12/palmcock.php#macgillivrayi">"macgillivrayi", at the Telegraph Road crossing of the Wenlock River, Cape York peninsula, QLD, in October 2008. C. Zdenek, @CNZdenek, who has been studying Palm Cockatoos for years, reports spotting a pair nesting at Kutini Payamu (Iron Range) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, in September 2014. B. Hensen found three Palm Cockatoos, race "macgillivrayi", at Kutini Payamu (Iron Range) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, in December 2018. M. Eaton reports finding two Palm Cockatoos, race "macgillivrayi", at Chili Beach, Cape York peninsula, QLD, in August 2019. Others was found at Seisia, Cape York peninsula, QLD, in June 2024.

Photos

Race "macgillivrayi"

ADULT

PAIR

Many bird species exhibit sexual dimorphism, i.e., male and female have differing appearances which can be quite subtle.
In Palm Cockatoos the distinguishing feature between the sexes is the length of the upper mandible of the bill. Males, left, have a longer upper mandible than females.

Pair of Palm Cockatoos at the entrance to their nest hollow, male on the right; apart from the fact that the male is the "drummer" with the stick, males also have a visibly longer upper mandible than females (photo courtesy of C. Zdenek, @CNZdenek)
[Kutini Payamu (Iron Range) NP, QLD, September 2014]

Pair(?) of Palm Cockatoos (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Chili Beach, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a pair(?) of Palm Cockatoos (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Chili Beach, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

MALE

Given that females spend 3-4 months in their nest hollows, the likelihood is always high that when one sees a single bird in the forest it will be a male.

Near-frontal view of a male(?) Palm Cockatoo looking sideways - note the long upper mandible of the bill
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kutini Payamu (Iron Range) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, June 2024]

Near-frontal/ventral view of a Palm Cockatoo; the extreme length of the upper mandible characterizes this bird as a male
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Kutini Payamu (Iron Range) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, December 2018]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a male Palm Cockatoo (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Kutini Payamu (Iron Range) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, December 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a male Palm Cockatoo (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Kutini Payamu (Iron Range) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, December 2018]

FEMALE

Near-lateral view of a female(?) Palm Cockatoo - note the comparatively short upper mandible
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Chili Beach, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Near-lateral view of a female(?) Palm Cockatoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kutini Payamu (Iron Range) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, June 2024]

Lateral/ventral view of a female(?) Palm Cockatoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Chili Beach, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a female(?) Palm Cockatoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Chili Beach, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a female(?) Palm Cockatoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Chili Beach, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Palm Cockatoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Chili Beach, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Aug - Feb

Eggs: 1

Incubation period: Ca. 35 days

Fledging age: 90 - 120 days

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Tree hollow

Material: Twigs

Height above ground: ?

Pair of Palm Cockatoos at the entrance to their nest hollow, male on the right
(photo courtesy of C. Zdenek, @CNZdenek)
[Kutini Payamu (Iron Range) NP, QLD, September 2014]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 50 x 36 mm

Colour: Dull white

Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Pair/small group

Male Palm Cockatoos are known to bang a stick, held in one foot, against the outside of hollows in a territorial display.

Food, Diet

Palm Cockatoo enjoying breakfast (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Chili Beach, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Palm Cockatoo enjoying breakfast (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Chili Beach, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.