Umbrella Cockatoo

The Umbrella Cockatoo is a medium-sized all-white cockatoo endemic to tropical rainforests on the islands of Indonesia. This species is also known as the Umbrellabird due to its backwards-bending, broad crest, which opens up like an umbrella and fans out.

Appearance

The male Umbrella Cockatoo usually has a broader head and a bigger beak than the female. They have brown or black eyes and a dark grey beak. When mature some female white cockatoos can have reddish/brown irises, while the irises of the adult male are dark brown or black. The feathers of the White cockatoo are mostly white. However, both the upper and lower surfaces of the inner half of the trailing edge of the large wing feathers are a yellow colour. The yellow colour on the underside of the wings is most notable because the yellow portion of the upper surface of the feather is covered by the white of the feather immediately medial (nearer to the body) and above. Similarly, areas of larger tail feathers that are covered by other tail feathers – and the innermost covered areas of the larger crest feathers – are yellow. Short white feathers grow from and closely cover the upper legs. The feathers of this species and others create a powder similar to talcum powder that easily transfers to clothing. In common with other cockatoos and parrots, the White cockatoo has zygodactyl feet with two toes facing forward and two facings backwards, which enable it to grasp objects with one foot while standing on the other, for feeding and manipulation.