Moluccan Cockatoo

Moluccan Cockatoos are vulnerable to extinction in the wild. Numbers have declined due to illegal trapping for the cage-bird trade and habitat loss. During the height of the trapping of this species, over 6,000 birds were being removed from the wild per year. Now only about 2,000 exist in the wild. Moluccan Cockatoos are the loudest parrot in the pet parrot trade. The Moluccan Cockatoo is widely considered to be the one of the most demanding parrots to keep as a pet, due to their high intelligence, large size, potential noise level, and need to chew.

Identification
At over 20 inches and weighing roughly 35 oz., it is the largest of the white cockatoos. The female is larger than the males on average. It has white-pink feathers with a definite peachy glow, a slight yellow on the underwing and underside of the tail feathers and a large retractable recumbent crest which it raises when threatened, revealing hitherto concealed bright red-orange plumes to frighten potential attackers (may also be raised in excitement, or other ’emotional’ displays). It also has one of the louder calls in the parrot world and in captivity is a capable mimic.