Species of Australian parrot. Notable for the crest of feathers on its head and an ability (in domesticated birds) to talk. Has a workmanlike beak that is used for cracking nuts in its native environment. Do not stick your finger in a strange cockatoo's cage. Tame birds can be affectionate.

A traditional bush recipe, also possibly Australia's First Joke.
A piece of Culture that needs to be recorded.
Also said of the galah.

Ingredients

• 1 Cockatoo
• 2 stones or
• 1 large piece of ironwood
• water

Equipment

• 1 Billy Can
• 1 Fire

Method

• Place your billy fully of water in the fire.
• Pluck your Cockatoo, remove head, feet and entrails.
• When the water is quite hot, throw the Cockatoo and stones (or Ironwood) in the pot, and wait.
• When the stones are soft, or the ironwood is tender, remove from the pot, and eat.
• If you have a dog, give the cockatoo to it. Otherwise throw it away.

Tender, nutritious, serves one and one dog.

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Please don't hurt me too much, it's my first time

The cockatoo is any one of around twenty species of bird¹, and is a member of the parrot family. In general, cockatoos are larger than other parrots, though they have the characteristic curved beak and a zygodactyl foot, that is one which has two toes pointing forwards and two backwards. They have a beautiful headcrest which can be raised or lowered at will, but their plumage in general is not as showy as that of other parrots - the beautiful, iridescent feathers of other species is lacking from the cockatoo family.

Like the budgerigar, cockatoos are found natively in Australia and nearby islands, though they make popular household pets in various locations around the world. Because Australia prudently forbids the export of native wildlife, all pet cockatoos are bred in captivity. A hand-reared cockatoo is docile, intelligent and enjoys interaction with its owner, though the time, expense and effort involved in correctly caring for a cockatoo is daunting, and certainly something to be researched carefully before making a purchase.

For many years, the distinction between the cockatoo and cockatiel has been unclear. Cockatiels are a small type of cockatoo with a distinctive, yellow crest. Smaller, and more slender, cockatiels have recently been genetically confirmed as a member of the family Cacatuinae² and are related to the black cockatoo and white cockatoo.

¹: These species all belong to the family Cacatuinae. This family is one of the two which make up the order Psittaciformes, which includes all parrots.
²: The cockatiel is named Nymphicus hollandicus, which reflects the circumstances of their discovery by a group of Dutch travellers who were so taken by their beauty that they compared them to the nymphs of mythology.

Cock`a*too" (kok`a*tOO"), n. [Malayan kakatUa.] (Zoöl.)

A bird of the Parrot family, of the subfamily Cacatuinæ, having a short, strong, and much curved beak, and the head ornamented with a crest, which can be raised or depressed at will. There are several genera and many species; as the broad-crested (Plictolophus, or Cacatua, cristatus), the sulphur-crested (P. galeritus), etc. The palm or great black cockatoo of Australia is Microglossus aterrimus.

 

© Webster 1913