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 | |
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Cock | |
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Hen | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Psittaciformes |
Family: | Cacatuidae |
Genus: | Cacatua |
Species: | C. citrinocristata |
Binomial name | |
Cacatua citrinocristata (Fraser, 1844) | |
Synonyms | |
Cacatua sulphurea citrinocristata |
It is 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

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.[5] Together with the other subspecies of the yellow-crested cockatoo, it is listed in appendix I of the CITES list.[6] Consequently, international trade is strongly regulated and trade in wild caught citron-crested cockatoos is illegal.
References
- 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 1 May 2023.
- "BirdLife International (2022) Species factsheet: Cacatua citrinocristata". Birdlife International. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- "Parrots, cockatoos". IOC World Bird List. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- 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. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-02.
- BirdLife International. "Yellow-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T22684777A131874695. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22684777A131874695.en. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- 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
