White Cockatoo (Cacatua alba)
The umbrella cockatoo, also known as the white cockatoo or the great white-crested cockatoo, is well-known in bird circles as being one of the most affectionate and affable companion birds widely available on the market today. An Indonesian native, the umbrella is slightly smaller than the Moluccan cockatoo, but is not smaller in personality or charm. This out-going cockatoo is infamous for its outlandish antics and for being clingy with its owners.
The umbrella can be distinguished from other white cockatoos by its wholly white crest that raises like an umbrella when the bird is excited, agitated, or ready to play (or bite!). Both the beak and legs are a dark gray, and the feathers on the undersides of the wings and tail are light yellow.
The umbrella cockatoo is native to the islands of Indonesia, where it lives in tropical rainforest.
The umbrella cockatoo certainly makes a charming, affectionate pet, but it\’s not for everyone. This bird can be as fickle as the weather, playing one minute and screaming and nipping the next. Birds will be birds, with all of their quirks and caprices, and umbrellas are no exception, though the informed umbrella owner is fortunate to live with this extraordinary bird that was named after something ordinary—and indispensable.
The umbrella desires nothing more than to cuddle with the object of its desire, and can become overly attached to other birds or objects in the pet shop, leading to serious disappointment when these birds or objects are sold—these birds are extremely sentimental! In the wild, the umbrella is never without a companion, and the captive umbrella has the same instinctual patterning to bond to a mate, or at least to have a special friend. The best way to make an umbrella cockatoo unhappy is to keep it in isolation.
The noise level of this bird is extremely high. It is prone to bouts of loud screaming, especially if it is isolated, locked in a cage, or doesn\’t get its way. Screaming is often a measure of the bird\’s displeasure—the louder the more significant the disapproval of its circumstances. Many cockatoos are re-homed because of their superior voices. On the up side, the umbrella can be taught to talk and may acquire a vocabulary of more than 50 words, though most will not learn that many. Often, a bird that learns to talk may substitute screaming for talking—but not all of the time.
Info from http://lafeber.com/
Pic From www.forestparkzoo.org