Wikipedia:Today's featured article/June 8, 2017

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Female Carnaby's black cockatoo in flight

Carnaby's black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris) is a large parrot, 53–58 cm (21–23 in) long, endemic to south western Australia. It was described in 1948 by naturalist Ivan Carnaby. This black cockatoo has a short crest, mostly greyish-black plumage, prominent white cheek patches, and a white tail band. The body feathers are edged with white, giving a scalloped appearance. The beak is dark grey for males and bone-coloured for females. The young stay with the family until at least the next breeding season. The bird eats seeds, mainly from the Proteaceae and Myrtaceae families. It nests in high hollows in large trees, generally Eucalyptus, but populations north of Perth have become dependent on pine plantations. With much of its habitat lost to land clearing and development, the bird is listed as endangered. Like most parrots, it is protected by CITES, an international agreement that makes trade, export, and import of listed wild-caught species illegal. It is also part of an annual census, the Great Cocky Count, held since 2009 to track the population change of threatened black cockatoo species in Western Australia. (Full article...)

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