Cockatoo

A cockatoo is a parrot that is any of the 21 species belonging to the bird family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea (true parrots) and the Strigopoidea (large New Zealand parrots), they make up the order Psittaciformes (parrots). The family has a mainly Australasian distribution, ranging from the Philippines and the eastern Indonesian islands of Wallacea to New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Australia. The name cockatoo originated from the Indonesian name for these birds, kaka(k)tua (either from kaka "parrot" + tuwah or "older sibling" from kakak "older sibling" + tua "old").

Cockatoos are recognisable by the showy crests and curved bills. Their plumage is generally less colourful than that of other parrots, being mainly white, grey or black and often with coloured features in the crest, cheeks or tail. On average they are larger than other parrots; however, the cockatiel, the smallest cockatoo species, is a small bird. The phylogenetic position of the cockatiel remains unresolved, other than that it is one of the earliest offshoots of the cockatoo lineage. The remaining species are in two main clades. The five large black coloured cockatoos of the genus Calyptorhynchus form one branch. The second and larger branch is formed by the genus Cacatua, comprising 11 species of white-plumaged cockatoos and four monotypic genera that branched off earlier; namely the pink and white Major Mitchell's cockatoo, the pink and grey galah, the mainly grey gang-gang cockatoo and the large black-plumaged palm cockatoo.

Cockatoo (disambiguation)

A cockatoo is a parrot from the bird family Cacatuidae.

Cockatoo may refer also too:

See also

Cockatoo, Victoria

Cockatoo is a town in Victoria, Australia, 48 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district. Its local government area is the Shire of Cardinia. At the 2011 Census, Cockatoo had a population of 4,400.

Cockatoo is named after Cockatoo Creek, which runs through the town, and which the town was previously named.

History

Cockatoo was named after Cockatoo Creek. It was first settled in the 1870s but progress was tardy as the land was difficult to clear.

A Post Office was not opened until 1 November 1901 when the railway arrived and was known as Cockatoo Creek until 1917.

Shortly after the end of the World War I, a large number of immigrants went to live in Cockatoo while working in Melbourne. The most significant wave was made by Italians. Timbergetting was the major source of employment and this industry received a considerable boost when the narrow-gauge railway from Upper Ferntree Gully to Gembrook was completed in 1900. Moreover, the railway brought leisure-seeking Melburnians into the area and a market for subdivision arose. The railway is operated today as the Puffing Billy Railway.