Community & Business
22 July, 2025
Free talk on little known cockatoo
THE Glossy Black-cockatoo will be the subject of a free presentation at Malanda this Thursday.
Australia has several black cockatoos and perhaps the best known is the Red-tailed Black Cockatoo. But the smallest species is the Glossy Black-cockatoo which lives from the Wet Tropics south to Victoria (and an isolated population on Kangaroo Island).
It is little known and considered to be Vulnerable.
BirdLife Northern Queensland is offering a free talk by Dr Gay Crowley, an expert on bird conservation, in which she will present information about the Glossy Black-cockatoo.
Little is known about the northern subspecies; even whether it is a separate subspecies is disputed. Recovery of the species will depend on knowledge of where the species nests and which stands of casuarina are essential for its survival.
Gay’s recent work has shown that the cockatoos prefer trees growing on acid soils formed on ancient rocks. This work can be used to identify the casuarina stands that are a priority for protection for the Glossy’s recovery.
The free talk will begin at 7.30pm in the Malanda Hotel on Thursday.
