Glossy Black-Cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus Lathami
The glossy black-cockatoo is around 46–50 cm long and is generally smaller than other black-cockatoos. It is a brownish black colour with a small crest. There are some distinct differences in appearance between male
and female birds. The male can be identified by the browner colour on the head and underparts and by bright
red panels in the black tail. The female has a wider tail which is red to reddish-yellow barred with black; yellow markings may also be apparent around the head area.
The glossy black-cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami) has a patchy distribution in Australia, having once been widespread across most of the south-eastern part of the country. It is now distributed throughout an area which extends from the coast near Eungella in eastern Queensland to Mallacoota in Victoria. An isolated population of glossy black-cockatoos is also known to live on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, (Garnett 1993). The species has become regionally extinct in parts of western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia.
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The current distribution of the glossy black-cockatoo in NSW covers areas from the coast to the tablelands, and as far west as the Riverina and Pilliga Scrub. In the west the glossy black-cockatoo is found in an area from Inverell to Warrumbungle National Park near Coonabarabran and in the hilly areas west to Cobar, including the Hervey Range, in Mount Hope, Hillston and Griffith, including the Lachlan and Cocoparra Range, and south to Narrandera Range, south-west of Ardlethan (Pizzey 1980).
The glossy black-cockatoo lives in coastal woodlands and drier forest areas, open inland woodlands or
timbered watercourses where casuarina, its main foodtrees, are common. It is thought that glossy black-cockatoos prefer to live in rugged country, where extensive clearing has not taken place. Brigalow scrub or hilly rocky country containing casuarina species tend to be the preferred habitat within inland NSW (Ayers et al. 1996).
BREEDING
The glossy black-cockatoo prefers to nest in hollows found in large, old eucalypt trees, alive or dead. The
typical nest tree may have a nest site around 3–30 metres above the ground and the nest hollow is generally
lined with decayed debris. In NSW breeding takes place from March to August, with one egg, white in colour, being produced. In some instances both the male and female parent feed the chick, whilst the female will brood the chick overnight. At other times the male will not feed the young, and the female will brood and feed the young.
It is thought that breeding occurs throughout the glossy black-cockatoo’s range, including Goonoo and Bidden State Forests, the Narrandera Range and Rankin Spring. There is a tendency for glossy black-cockatoos to nest in the same areas as other nesting pairs, sometimes even sharing the same nest tree.
The glossy black-cockatoo generally prefers to feed from the seeds of mature casuarina trees, although they
occasionally eat seeds from eucalypts, angophora, acacias and hakeas, as well as eating insect larvae
(Crome & Shields 1992). In central west NSW they also eat the seeds of cypress pine (Peet, J., personal
communication). In north-eastern NSW the main food source is seeds from the forest oak casuarina (Allocasuarina torulosa) and the black oak casuarina (A. littoralis). In southeastern NSW seeds from black oak casuarina are the favoured food source. Glossy black-cockatoos favour eucalypt-pine-acacia-casuarina woodland in inland NSW.
The drooping she-oak (A. verticillata) and belah (Casuarina cristata/C. pauper) are their favourite feed
trees in this area (Smith et al. 1995). The glossy blackcockatoo has been known to eat the soft, green, unripe
cones of the casuarina and cypress pines but the hard, woody cones are generally left uneaten (Peet, J.,
personal communication). A study undertaken at Eden in NSW indicated that the glossy black-cockatoo is selective in its choice of feed trees, the favoured casuarina producing seeds with a high nutrient value (Crome & Shields 1992). A pair of glossy black-cockatoos may make short visits to various feed trees within a small area, checking the quality of the seeds. Once satisfied, the pair will settle in the one feed tree and harvest all the cones within reach. As such, the presence of a glossy black-cockatoo is often indicated by a layer of cracked cones and fragments that have accumulated under favoured casuarina trees.
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Nest predation by feral cats and possums, as well as competition for nests from galahs and introduced
honeybees, threaten the glossy black-cockatoo. Possums invading nests have been a significant problem for the glossy black-cockatoos on Kangaroo Island, due in part to increased numbers of possums on the island. A possum has been also found in the nest hollow of a glossy black-cockatoo at Narrandera Range (Ayers et al. 1996). The breeding success of the glossy black-cockatoo is considered to be linked to the proximity of food trees and nest trees. Fragmentation of habitat has a detrimental effect on the successful breeding of the bird. Its specific diet can make it vulnerable to changes in the environment. For example, in the Western Australian wheatbelt area, the white-tailed black-cockatoo is now extinct due in part to the increased patchiness of food trees.
