ML249531571
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
- Behaviors
- Courtship, display, or copulation; Vocalizing
Media notes
Note diagnostic salmon colored inner crest, males, females and immature have saturated color in their crests. There is only slight variability within the pure species. Hybrid birds in this population have a wide variation of crest color saturation and distribution as well as variable and atypical crest morphologies. This specific bird was one of two pure species salmon-crested cockatoos in this population. This individual male ceased to exist after a rumored parrot management at this general geographic location. Hybrid (C. moluccensis x C. alba) progeny continue to exist, likely, in-part, sired by this individual. In this checklist's images and video footage this male is displaying to another male salmon-crested cockatoo both focused on a tree cavity. Males often display around focal tree hollows to attract attention for a number of reasons. The harsh call type is not an alarm call but the call used when displaying to assert dominance and more specifically to attract conspecifics' attention to them and a focal tree cavity.
Observation details
Within the Paradise Park/Lyon Arboretum forest exists a geographically sedentary population of Maluku Island hybrid cockatoos (Cacatua moluccensis x Cacatua alba). There had been two pure-species salmon-crested cockatoos which are documented in this 2004 observation. One of these individuals had a USDA split-ring quarantine station (HNL) leg band (right leg). These two birds were determined to be males - by behavior and being paired with individuals they copulated with on other observation days (video available). These two pure Salmon-crested cockatoo individuals do not exist any longer rumored due to lethal population management actions, dropping the total population to approximately 8 birds. The majority if not all, remaining large cockatoos in this forest are hybrid progeny of the aforementioned species (including these two birds) over a 50 and continuing year presence there. A key diagnostic feature of Salmon-crested cockatoos is their crest. both adult genders and immature birds have deeply saturated color (not pastel or incomplete) for the full length of the inner crest feathers and the crest is sickle shaped and lays tightly along the curvature of the head when closed. When extended it maintains the sickle shape, continuing to curve backward and appears stiff. This is in contrast to a close relative, Cacatua alba, which has a longer and fan-shaped crest that expands, is not very curved and does not conform tightly to the curvature of the head when closed. Most importantly it is pure white-colored. Hybrids of these two species, and offspring of hybrids show characteristics of both species in their crests...all having some salmon pink- usually incomplete and pastel colored and the crest morphology is highly variable, being of intermediate morphology between both species. in 2020 possibly all birds except one are C. moluccensis x C. alba hybrids, the one being a pure c. moluccensis, though it is likely it is a pure species x hybrid offspring that looks mostly like a c. moluccensis.
Technical information
- Camera
- Microphone
- Accessories
- Original file size
- 190.24 MB