Umbrella Cockatoo

Umbrella Cockatoo UMBRELLA COCKATOOS, also known as White or White-Crested Cockatoos, are perhaps the best known and most spectacularly beautiful members of the cockatoo family. These gorgeous large birds, although not the biggest of the cockatoos, are still very large birds indeed, averaging about 18 inches in length, bigger than any other cockatoos except the Moluccan and Palm cockatoos. Umbrellas are snow white with pale yellow under the wings and tail. The plumage is exceptionally soft with a lovely "sculpted" quality, resulting from the white powder that occurs throughout due to the gradual disintegration of special feathers.

Umbrella Cockatoo Baby

The beautiful white is offset by the beak, legs and feet, which are blackish grey. The beak is large and powerful, and is in fact, every bit as strong and formidable as it appears.

Umbrella Cockatoos have a broad, pure white crest that is normally flat against the head. When an umbrella cockatoo becomes excited, the crest unfolds and rises. This behavior is certainly attention getting, although it isn't always 100% clear as to which emotion the bird is experiencing.

Male Umbrella Cockatoos have black eyes, females red or dark brown, but DNA or surgical sexing should be done to be sure. Umbrellas, like the other cockatoo species, are long lived, often surviving for 70 years or more. In the wild, they live in small groups or flocks. In the home, the human family soon becomes the bird's flock.

Their diet in the wild consists of berries, fruits and nuts found in the top of large trees. These items should form a significant portion of their diet as companion birds too.

Umbrella Cockatoos can be absolutely marvelous pets that will charm a a family's life for decades. They are beautiful, intelligent, affectionate showoffs. Unlike most birds, they love to be cuddled. This trait is the source of terms like "velcro bird" and "love sponge" coined to describe their behavior. They are curious and highly intelligent, and easily form strong bonds with their human flock members. And they talk, although usually not so well as the better talking Amazons and African Greys. Nevertheless, vocabularies of forty or fifty words are not uncommon.

They are good at doing tricks and some excel in mechanical feats such as undoing cage-door locks, not only of their cages, but those of the other birds within reach as well.

Like all other birds, they are not without their faults. With their high intelligence and curiosity, they will soon learn to manipulate their owners, and it may become a little unclear as to just who owns whom.

Umbrellas can also be very loud, and their voices carry, which tends to make them unsuitable for apartments or closely spaced housing. Their beaks are extremely powerful and they generally have a tendency to chew. This gives them the capability of destroying just about anything within reach, and given the chance, they will probably do it too. They require a large cage so that they can climb about and exercise to stay in good shape.

They not only love attention and companionship, they require it. Every day needs to include some "out time" to keep the cockatoo happy and bonds with the family strong. Toys and perches and things to chew and destroy are essential to their well being and to keep them from becoming bored. They tend to feather pluck and lonliness and boredom figure high among the causes. One of the saddest sights in the world of bird keeping is a once beautiful cockatoo that has been allowed to deteriorate to where it looks like a plucked chicken.

Inviting an Umbrella Cockatoo into your life can be a rewarding experience of love, affection and entertainment that will last for decades, but it's not an undertaking to be taken lightly. To be successful, it requires a significant lifelong commitment to sharing your life, time and resources, both physical and emotional, with your companion bird.

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