The Solomons Cockatoo (Cacatua ducorpsii), also known as the Ducorps' Cockatoo, Solomons Corella or Broad-crested Corella, is a species of cockatoo

Cockatoo

A cockatoo is any of the 21 species belonging to the bird family Cacatuidae. Along with the Psittacidae and the Strigopidae , they make up the parrot order Psittaciformes . Placement of the cockatoos as a separate family is fairly undisputed, although many aspects of the other living lineages of...

 endemic

Endemic (ecology)

Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...

 to the Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

. This small white cockatoo is larger than the Tanimbar Corella yet smaller than the Umbrella Cockatoo

Umbrella Cockatoo

The White Cockatoo, Cacatua alba , is a medium-sized, approximately long cockatoo endemic to the islands of Halmahera, Bacan, Ternate, Tidore, Kasiruta and Mandiole in North Maluku, Indonesia. This threatened white parrot has brown or black eyes and a dark grey beak...

. The species is common across most of the Solomons, absent only from Makira

Makira

The island of Makira is the largest island of Makira-Ulawa Province in the Solomon Islands. The island is located east of Guadalcanal and south of Malaita. The largest and capital city is Kirakira....

 in the south. It inhabits lowland rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

s, secondary forests, cleared areas and gardens.

Description

The Solomons Cockatoo is about 30 cm (12 in) long. They are predominantly white. They have a blue eye ring and a recumbent

Recumbent

Recumbent may refer to:* Recumbence, the act or state of lying down or leaning.* Recumbent bicycle, a bicycle which places the rider in a seated or supine position...

 crest which resembles a sail in its raised state. As other members of the subgenus Licmetis

Licmetis

Licmetis is a subgenus of the white cockatoos . They are collectively known as corellas in Australia. Three of the six species are primarily - or only - found in Australia, while the Philippines, Indonesia, and the Solomons each have an endemic species...

, it has a pale bill.

Breeding

The Solomons Cockatoo nests in tree cavities. The eggs are white and there are usually two in a clutch. The eggs are incubated for about 25 days and the chicks leave the nest about 62 days after hatching.

External links

• World Parrot Trust Parrot Encyclopedia - Species Profiles