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Short-billed Black-Cockatoo (Zanda latirostris) Alternate name(s): "White-tailed Black-Cockatoo", "Carnaby's Black Cockatoo" Aboriginal name(s): "ngolynok", "ngoolya*" Size: 53-58 cm; wing span: ca. 1.1 m Body mass: 520-790 g Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.30-0.45

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

Similar species

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Short-billed Black-Cockatoos are medium-sized cockatoos. They have almost all dark-grey plumage, with a yellowish-white cheek patch and white panels on their undertails. The feathers have light-grey edges, leading to a scalloped pattern all over the body. Male Short-billed Black-Cockatoos have pink eye-rings and a grey bill, while females have grey eye-rings and a light-grey bill. Females also have more pronounced edge lining of their feathers. Both sexes can erect their cap into a small crest. The irises are black; legs and feet are grey. Juveniles resemble females. Twitcher's tip Compared to Long-billed Black-Cockatoos they have a much shorter upper mandible.

Taxonomy, classification See Short-billed Black-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 Short-billed Black-Cockatoo is available HERE . Short-tailed Black-Cockatoos are endemic to Western Australia. They are found only in the south-western part of WA, around Perth and to the South-East of the city. They rarely venture as far inland as half-way between Perth and Kalgoorlie, WA, and also only rarely onto the very tip of south-west WA. Short-tailed Black-Cockatoos have a preference for sandplain woodland and mallee.

Sightings Click here for sighting information J. Greaves reports spotting Short-billed Black-Cockatoos semi-regularly in and around Perth, WA. Short-billed Black-Cockatoos were also spotted by J. Greaves at Albany, WA, in March 2015. M. Eaton found Short-billed Black-Cockatoos at Margaret River, WA, and in Perth, WA, in April 2019. D. Dyer reports that Short-billed Black-Cockatoos are only occasionally found in Cervantes, WA, e.g. in April 2021, when a pair was found with a dependent juvenile. C. Pears reports spotting Short-billed Black-Cockatoos occasionally at City Beach, Perth, WA.

Photos

ADULT

PAIR

Many bird species exhibit sexual dimorphism, i.e., male and female have differing appearances which can be quite subtle.
The easiest way to tell the sexes of Short-billed Black-Cockatoos apart is by the colour of the orbital skin around the eyes. In males, left, it is pink, in females black. Apart from that, females have larger and brighter light-grey ear patches and their bill tends to be a lighter shade of grey than the males'.

Close-up lateral view of a pair of Short-billed Black-Cockatoos, male on the right (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[City Beach, Perth, WA, July 2026]

Close-up lateral/dorsal view of a pair of Short-billed Black-Cockatoos, male on the left (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[City Beach, Perth, WA, August 2025]

Close-up dorsal view of a pair of Short-billed Black-Cockatoos, both looking sideways (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[City Beach, Perth, WA, August 2025]

Close-up dorsal view of a pair of Short-billed Black-Cockatoos (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[City Beach, Perth, WA, August 2025]

Ventral view of a pair of Short-billed Black-Cockatoos (photo courtesy of D. Dyer)
[Cervantes, WA, April 2021]

Dorsal/ventral view of a pair of Short-billed Black-Cockatoos (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Yanchep NP, near Perth, WA, January 2015]

Near-dorsal view of a pair of Short-billed Black-Cockatoos in flight (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Yanchep NP, near Perth, WA, January 2015]

MALE

Frontal/ventral view of a male Short-billed Black-Cockatoo hiding in the dense foliage of a tree; note the pink orbital skin
(photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Yanchep NP, near Perth, WA, January 2015]

Lateral view of a male Short-billed Black-Cockatoo; note the pink orbital skin - the very dark bill indicates that this individual is old (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

Lateral view of a male Short-billed Black-Cockatoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

Lateral view of a male Short-billed Black-Cockatoo (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[City Beach, Perth, WA, May 2021]

FEMALE

Lateral view of a female Short-billed Black-Cockatoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

Lateral/ventral view of female Short-billed Black-Cockatoos (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Perth, WA, April 2019]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a female Short-billed Black-Cockatoo looking sideways (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[City Beach, Perth, WA, August 2025]

Near-dorsal view of a female Short-billed Black-Cockatoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a female Short-billed Black-Cockatoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a female Short-billed Black-Cockatoo (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[City Beach, Perth, WA, August 2025]

Direct comparison of a female Short-billed Black-Cockatoo, left, with a female Long-billed Black-Cockatoo, right; click on images for larger versions (photos courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

Sex unknown

Lateral view of a Short-billed Black-Cockatoo banking sharply to land (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, October 2025]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Female Short-billed Black-Cockatoos, left, feeding its young (photo courtesy of D. Dyer)
[Cervantes, WA, April 2021]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal

Mobility: Dispersive

Elementary unit: Pair/flock

Like in most other species of parrots and cockatoos, in pairs of Short-billed Black-Cockatoos the female takes on the nest duties, while the male has the task of feeding her during that time. To make sure that the male is a reliable partner, the the female, in a bonding ritual, makes him feed her before allowing him to mate with her.

Male Short-billed Black-Cockatoo feeding his partner, in preparation for the upcoming breeding season, behaviour that is part of a bonding ritual (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[City Beach, Perth, WA, August 2025]

Like other parrots and cockatoos, Short-billed Black-Cockatoos are affectionate towards their partners in bonding ritual; here some TLC, i.e. allopreening... (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

Food, Diet

Adults: Seeds

Dependents: Regurgitated seeds

Water intake: Daily

Like basically all cockatoos, Short-tailed Black-Cockatoos are seed-eaters, where seeds include those in cones and nut-like fruit.

Head-down view of a male Short-billed Black-Cockatoo gaining access to eucalypt seeds (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[City Beach, Perth, WA, May 2021]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

sbbcock_cp_20260811_2.m4a	(SW WA)	Contact calls	© CP
sbbcock_cp_20260811.m4a	(SW WA)	Contact calls	© CP
sbbcock_jg_20150314.mp3	(SW WA)	Contact calls? (flock)	© JG
sbbcock_cp_20260415.m4a	(SW WA)	Various (flock)	© CP
sbbcock_cp_20260717.m4a	(SW WA)	Begging calls (juvenile)	© CP
sbbcock_cp_20260811_3.m4a	(SW WA)	Begging calls (juvenile) + adult response	© CP
sbbcock_cp_20251026.m4a	(SW WA)	? (flock)	© CP

More Short-billed Black-Cockatoo sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

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.