![]() However, their numbers are declining with the main threat coming from the destruction of their habitat, in particular their nesting sites due to climate change and fire. This species is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. These monogamous birds mate for life and pairs can be very territorial in guarding their nesting sites. They reach physical maturity at five to six months old and are sexually mature after seven to eight years. Chicks leave the nest at around three months of age but will be fed by their parents for another six weeks. Females lay one egg at a time and they take 30 days to gestate. They lay their eggs in nests without a roof, however their eggs are laid upon a bed of twigs which allows the rainwater to pass through. Goliath Palm Cockatoos build nests that differ from many other cockatoos. They feed mostly on nuts and fruits of the kanari tree (a type of palm) as well as other fruits, nuts, berries, buds and seeds. The lifespan of Goliath Palm Cockatoo is unknown in the wild but could reach up to 80 in captivity. This species is found in the forests and savannahs of Australia and New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea). When excited they can make themselves look even bigger by raising their crest feathers. They reach 60 inches length, with a 100cm wingspan and weigh up to 1.2.kg. These large cockatoos live up to their name. But all is clearly not well, and we hope this ‘warning shot across the bow’ enables conservation actions to save the species while there are still sufficient birds left for this to be possible.”Īs of November 2021, the palm cockatoo has been added to the endangered list by the Queensland Government.Goliath Palm Cockatoo Goliath Palm Cockatoo Natural History Size “It’s too easy to just assume that all is well in the remote north of Australia. “We hope this analysis shows that we cannot take the apparent continuing presence of palm cockatoos for granted. ![]() Fire regimes have changed since Europeans started managing the landscape and are much ‘hotter’ and more destructive these days.” “Palm cockatoo habitat is being badly affected by large fires that burn the woodland and destroy nest hollows each dry season. Less than ideal land management is also taking its toll. “Over 5000 square kilometres of bush are ear-marked for clearing for bauxite mining in the next 20 years making it essential that mining companies find improved ways to identify and preserve palm cockatoo habitat.” On the west coast, he says a lot of palm cockatoo habitat is being lost to broad-scale habitat clearing for bauxite mining. “We worked out that the other populations are not doing well enough to support Kutini-Payamu National Park (east) – in fact the opposite occurs and Kutini-Payamu is a ‘sink’ that causes the other two populations to also decline,” Rob says. Using data from a long-term monitoring project and new information about breeding biology, the researchers examined exactly how connected these three individual populations of palm cockatoo are, and found that good breeders in one population were not compensating for the lower reproduction rates of another population. There’s one within the Iron and McIlwraith Ranges on the eastern side of Cape York, a population within the inter-connected patches of rainforest on the western side of the Great Dividing Range, and a population within the forest patches closer to the tip of Cape York. There are three existing populations of palm cockatoo in Australia, all within the Cape York Peninsula. This slow reproduction rate, paired with the threat of habitat destruction, has set the palm cockatoo on a dangerous trajectory. Palm cockatoos produce one successful offspring every 10 years. Related: Male palm cockatoos are using drums to seduce femalesĪccording to the research, populations of palm cockatoo, of which only an estimated 2000 are left in the wild, are projected to be half the size in 50 years.
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