Cockatoo parrot
Cockatoos are large parrots that live in hot Australia and on islands nearby. They grow from 30 to 70 cm long and have very beautiful crests on their heads that they can raise and lower! The crests are usually different in colour from the rest of the parrot's plumage. And the colours of their plumage come in white, black, pink and yellow. White cockatoos look like fluffy clouds, while pink and yellow cockatoos look like sweet candy! Boy and girl cockatoos look the same. But there is one funny rule: cockatoos are never blue or green!
Amazing cockatoo beaks
Cockatoos have a short tail and a very strong beak. This strong beak allows cockatoos to eat different things that other birds can't. They can open nuts and even break twigs. When cockatoos eat, they use their beak like a little hammer! And they have a little dimple on the end of their tongue that they use like a real spoon!
But their beaks aren't just for eating. Cockatoos are very fond of climbing trees. They do it so well that they can use their beak to cling to branches and pull themselves up, like a person climbing a mountain with a rope. Yes, that's right, cockatoos use their beaks as paws!
The life of a cockatoo
When it's time to start a family, they start building a home in tree hollows or rock crevices, and always at a high altitude from the ground. They choose a place large enough to accommodate both parrots and their future babies. Like humans, they clean the house and make it cosy and safe.
The mum cockatoo lays 2-3 eggs if she is big and 5-6 eggs if she is small. Then dad and mum take turns sitting on the eggs, keeping them warm and waiting for the little parrots to hatch.
After the babies hatch from the eggs, the mum and dad cockatoos take great care of them. They feed them, teach them important things like how to use their beak, and prepare them to become big and strong parrots.
This is a very important job, and cockatoos do it wonderfully. They take care of their babies until they are old enough and strong enough to fly away and start their own lives. And just like that, the life of cockatoo parrots goes on!
