How to Identify a Cockatoo
- 1). Examine the bird's beak to check that it is curved. This is a characteristic that all species of parakeet share.
- 2). Look at the bird's feet. The cockatoo always has four toes on each foot.
- 3). Determine if the bird is a cockatoo by looking for a crest. This is made up of feathers and is located on the top of the head. A cockatoo will raise its crest to show excitement or aggression.
- 4). Note the bird's coloration to determine what type of cockatoo the bird is. The citron-crested, goffin, greater sulphur-crested, lessor sulphur-crested, moluccan and umbrella cockatoos are all white in coloration. The citron-crested and sulphur cockatoos have a yellow coloration in the crest feathers and on the underside of the tail, whereas the mollucan cockatoo has a red coloration in its crest feathers. The rose-breasted cockatoo is grey in coloration with a pink/red breast.
Source...