BlackCockatooHabitat

On the Central Coast, there are two primary species of black cockatoo, each with specific habitat requirements tied to the local landscape.

Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo

The most common and adaptable black cockatoos in the area.

Habitat: They frequent tall eucalypt forests, coastal heathlands, pine forests and suburban parklands.

Local Hotspots: Popran National Park, Strickland State Forest and many lagoons on the Central Coast.

Dietary Needs: They rely heavily on Banksias (Integrifolia, Serrata), Hakea teretifolia and Casuarina seeds in coastal heaths but are also famous for stripping bark from wattles and eucalypts to find wood boring larvae.

Feeding: They feed in small to large noisy flocks.

Nesting: They are hollow nesters and require very large, deep hollows 10 – 20 metres off the ground in Eucalypts that are often over 150 years old. With the nesting site preferred to be within 2 kilometres of a permanent water source.

Glossy Black Cockatoo

Listed as Vulnerable in NSW, this species is much more elusive and has a highly specialised diet.

Habitat: Open forests and coastal woodlands where their food source, black she oak ‘Allocasuarina littoralis’ is abundant.

Local Hotspots: Sightings are frequent at sites like Doyle Street Bush care site in Kincumber and down near Pearl Beach Arboretum.

Dietary Needs: Specialist feeders, glossy black cockatoos eat the seeds inside the cones of the she oak trees almost exclusively. Thanks to their large bulbous bills, which have evolved specifically to handle the task, they can extract the seeds with ease.

Nesting: They are hollow nesters and require very large, deep hollows 10 – 20metres off the ground in Eucalypts that are often over 150 years old. With the nesting site preferred to be within 2 kilometres of a permanent water source.

Breeding: Glossy black cockatoos are monogamous and lays a singular egg every 1 –2 years. Primarily breeding between March to August.

6 Suitable Hollow Trees

Sydney Blue Gum (Eucalyptus saligna) - Valleys of Ourimbah and Yarramalong

Blackbutt (Eucalyptus pilularis) - Coastal Sand Ridges

Smooth Barked Apple Gum (Angophora costata) - Bouddi and Brisbane Water National Park

Forest Red Gum (Eucalyptus tereticornis ) - Vital for populations near Tuggerah Lakes

Spotted Gum (Corymbia maculata) - Dominant around Lake Macquarie

Turpentine Trees (Syncarpia glomulifera) - Transitional zones between wet and dry sclerophyll forests

Disclaimer

* These species of trees are all very large and require further advice before planting. Please either reach out to CCH or your local land care group for further advice and recommendations on suitability before planting.

** Also, I am not a bird expert, just curious. Please email if any information is incorrect and I will update :)

Hope you have learnt something,

- Az