glossy black cockatoo
{{short description|Species of cockatoo from Australia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=December 2017}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Glossy black cockatoo
| image = Glossy Black-Cockatoo adult male 0A2A4448.jpg
| image_caption = Adult male C. l. lathami
| image2 = Glossy Black-Cockatoo adult female 0A2A4714.jpg
| image2_caption = Adult female C. l. lathami
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Calyptorhynchus
| species = lathami
| authority = (Temminck, 1807)
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision = C. (C.) l. lathami
C. (C.) l. erebus
C. (C.) l. halmaturinus
| range_map = Bird range glossy black cockatoo.png
| range_map_caption = Glossy black cockatoo range (in red)
}}
The glossy black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami), is the smallest member of the subfamily Calyptorhynchinae found in eastern Australia. Adult glossy black cockatoos may reach {{convert|50|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} in length. They are sexually dimorphic. Males are blackish brown, except for their prominent sub-terminal red tail bands; the females are dark brownish with idiosyncratic yellow marking around the neck and prominent sub-terminal tail band of red with black bars. Three subspecies have been recognised, although this has been recently challenged, with a detailed morphological analysis by Saunders and Pickup 2023 finding there is cline in body dimensions over the latitudinal range of the species, with the birds from the north of the range smaller than the birds in the south. Saunders and Pickup argued that with no differentiation in bill morphology, little difference in genetic makeup, no differences in plumage pattern or colour, and no differences in diet, there is no justification in subdividing the species.
Taxonomy
The glossy black cockatoo was first described by Dutch naturalist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1807. The scientific name honours the English ornithologist John Latham.
The glossy black cockatoo's closest relative is the red-tailed black cockatoo; the two species form the genus Calyptorhynchus.Forshaw, p. 89 They are distinguished from the other black cockatoos of the genus Zanda by different tail colour and head pattern, significant sexual dimorphism, and differences in two juvenile call types, a squeaking begging call and a vocalization when swallowing food.{{cite journal |last=Courtney |first=J |year=1996 |title=The juvenile food-begging calls, food-swallowing vocalisation and begging postures in Australian Cockatoos |journal=Australian Bird Watcher |volume=16 |pages=236–49 }}
=Subspecies=
Three subspecies were proposed by Schodde et al. in 1993,Schodde R, Mason IJ & Wood JT. (1993). Geographical differentiation in the Glossy Black Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus lathami (Temminck), and its history. Emu 93: 156-166 although in 2002 parrot expert Joseph Forshaw had reservations due to their extremely minimal differences.Forshaw, Joseph M. & Cooper, William T. (2002): Australian Parrots (3rd ed). Press, Willoughby, Australia. {{ISBN|0-9581212-0-6}} Saunders and Pickup's (2023) detailed analysis of the species throughout its range demonstrated there was no differentiation in bill morphology, little difference in genetic makeup, no differences in plumage pattern or colour, and no differences in diet, supporting Forshaw's reservations and they concluded the species is monotypic.
- C. l. lathami: (rare) The eastern subspecies found between southeastern Queensland and Mallacoota in Victoria, with isolated pockets in Eungella in central Queensland and the Riverina and Pilliga forest.Blakers M, Davies SJJF, Reilly PN (1984) The Atlas of Australian Birds. RAOU and Melbourne University press, Melbourne. It is associated with casuarina woodland.
- C. l. erebus: Occurs in central Queensland from Eungella near Mackay south to Gympie.
- C. l. halmaturinus: (endangered) The Kangaroo Island subspecies{{Cite web|url=https://www.naturalresources.sa.gov.au/kangarooisland/plants-and-animals/native-animals/glossy-black-cockatoo-recovery/glossy_black_cockatoo |title=Glossy black cockatoo |website=www.naturalresources.sa.gov.au |date=June 27, 2017 |publisher=Natural Resources Kangaroo Island |agency=Kangaroo Island Natural Resources Management Board |access-date=January 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407043947/https://www.naturalresources.sa.gov.au/kangarooisland/plants-and-animals/native-animals/glossy-black-cockatoo-recovery/glossy_black_cockatoo |archive-date=April 7, 2019 |url-status=live}} has been listed by the Australian Government as endangered. Restricted to the northern and western parts of the island, the population was as low as 158 individuals at one point but recovered to about 370 in 2019. It feeds on the drooping she-oak (Allocasuarina verticillata) and the sugar gum (Eucalyptus cladocalyx)Joseph L (1982) The Glossy Black Cockatoo on Kangaroo Island Emu 82 46-49 In particular, the bird specialises in the most recent season's cones of Allocasuarina verticillata over older cones of that species and Allocasuarina littoralis. It holds the cones in its foot and shreds them with its powerful bill before removing the seeds with its tongue.{{cite journal|title=Food value and tree selection by Glossy Black-Cockatoos Calyptorhynchus lathami|journal=Austral Ecology|year=2001|first=GM|last=Crowley|author2=Garnett S|volume=26|issue=1|pages=116–26|doi=10.1046/j.1442-9993.2001.01093.x|doi-broken-date=1 July 2025 }} In early 2020, during the 2019-2020 Australian bushfire season, bushfire warnings were issued for the entirety of Kangaroo Island,{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-03/cfs-battles-kangaroo-island-fire-amid-extreme-heat/11838600 |title=Kangaroo Island bushfire emergency sees tourist lodges ravaged as firefighters battle 'unstoppable' blaze |date=January 2, 2020 |website=www.abc.net.au |access-date=January 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103033304/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-03/cfs-battles-kangaroo-island-fire-amid-extreme-heat/11838600 |archive-date=January 3, 2020 |url-status=live}} giving rise to warnings from scientists that the continued viability of this subspecies in the wild might be doomed as its drooping she-oak food supply undergoes destruction by the fires.{{cite tweet |last=Roper |first=Erika |user=_erikaroper |number=1213083381258309632 |date=January 3, 2020 |link=no |title=This is likely to be the end for the Endangered Kangaroo Island subspecies of the Glossy #BlackCockatoos. These cockies are dependent on Kangaroo Island's Drooping Sheoak trees for food. There are only ~300 birds left with nowhere to go. Wildlife can't evacuate. #AustraliaBurning |access-date=January 4, 2020}}(Other source information is linked in the Twitter thread){{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/bushfires-take-a-devastating-toll-on-kangaroo-island-s-unique-wildlife-20200106-p53p33.html |title=Bushfires take a devastating toll on Kangaroo Island's unique wildlife |date=January 6, 2020 |website=www.smh.com.au |access-date=January 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200105194209/https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/bushfires-take-a-devastating-toll-on-kangaroo-island-s-unique-wildlife-20200106-p53p33.html?js-chunk-not-found-refresh=true |archive-date=January 5, 2020 |url-status=live}} As of 6 January 2020, at least 170,000 hectares (one third of the island's area) had burnt.{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-05/firefighting-continues-on-kangaroo-island-on-sunday/11841610|title=Kangaroo Island fires continue as locals count cost of damage to infrastructure, animals|publisher=ABC (Australia)|date=7 January 2020}} Occasional respites in the weather offer at least temporary relief from the bushfires; a full assessment of the status of the Kangaroo Island subspecies and its supporting ecosystem will take place after the ongoing bushfire crisis has passed.{{cite tweet |last=Roper |first=Erika |user=_erikaroper |number=1213641327801323522 |date=January 4, 2020 |link=no |title=A Glossy #BlackCockatoos update from @daniteixeira___, who studied the Kangaroo Island population for her PhD. Thanks to the weather change the fires were not as severe as expected, so some habitat remains. Lots of work to do to restore the island. |access-date=January 5, 2020}} Reliable funding for the successful program to protect this subspecies – primarily from predation by the common brush tail possum{{Cite web|last1=Hill |first1=Tony |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-10/recovery-program-sees-glossy-black-cockatoo-numbers-rise/7013946 |title=Glossy black cockatoo numbers increase on Kangaroo Island thanks to recovery program |date=9 December 2015 |website=www.abc.net.au |access-date=January 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200105211445/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-10/recovery-program-sees-glossy-black-cockatoo-numbers-rise/7013946 |archive-date=5 January 2020 |url-status=live}} – ended several years ago.{{cite tweet |last=Teixeira |first=Daniella |user=daniteixeira___ |number=1213622255596367872 |date=January 4, 2020 |link=no |title=We know that protecting nests from possum predation is the most important thing to keep doing each year. Nest predation is almost 100% on unprotected nests. Nest protection takes a massive amount of manual labor, maintaining iron collars and pruning canopys. |access-date=January 5, 2020}} (Final tweet in a 3-tweet thread.)
Description
File:Calyptorhynchus lathami Glossy Black Cockatoo pair 02.jpg
Like the related red-tailed black cockatoo, this species is sexually dimorphic. The male glossy black cockatoo is predominantly black with a chocolate-brown head and striking caudal red patches. The female is a duller dark brown, with flecks of yellow in the tail and collar. The female's tail is barred whereas the male's tail is patched. An adult will grow to be about {{convert|46|–|50|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} in length. The birds are found in open forest and woodlands, and usually feed on seeds of the she-oak (Casuarina spp.)File:Glossy Black Cockatoos fly in to drink during our devastating bush fires 2020.jpg
Conservation status
File:Glossy Black Cockatoo.ogg
File:Glossy black cockatoo male kobble08.JPG
File:Glossy black cockatoo fem kobble08.JPG
Like most species of parrots, the glossy black cockatoo is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) with its placement on the Appendix II list of vulnerable species, which makes the import, export, and trade of listed wild-caught animals illegal.{{cite web|url=http://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.shtml |title=Appendices I, II and III |date=2009-05-22 |publisher=CITES |access-date=18 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071229054904/http://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.shtml |archive-date=29 December 2007 }}Cameron, p. 169.
Glossy black cockatoos generally are not listed as threatened on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, however the Kangaroo Island subspecies (C. l. halmaturinis) was added to the list as endangered.
=State of Victoria, Australia=
- The eastern subspecies of the glossy black cockatoo (C. l. lathami) is listed as threatened on the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.[http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/DSE/nrenpa.nsf/LinkView/EADA0F1874AF9CF24A2567C1001020A388BBA5581CF9D859CA256BB300271BDB Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050718182613/http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/DSE/nrenpa.nsf/LinkView/EADA0F1874AF9CF24A2567C1001020A388BBA5581CF9D859CA256BB300271BDB |date=July 18, 2005 }} Under this act, an "Action Statement" for the recovery and future management of this species has not been prepared.[http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/DSE/nrenpa.nsf/LinkView/617768308BCB666E4A25684E00192281E7A24BB36FF60A144A256DEA00244294 Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060911130015/http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/DSE/nrenpa.nsf/LinkView/617768308BCB666E4A25684E00192281E7A24BB36FF60A144A256DEA00244294 |date=September 11, 2006 }}
- On the 2007 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria, the subspecies C. l. lathami is listed as vulnerable.{{cite book | author = Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment | title = Advisory List of Threatened Vertebrate Fauna in Victoria - 2007 | publisher = Department of Sustainability and Environment | year = 2007 | location = East Melbourne, Victoria | isbn = 978-1-74208-039-0 | page = 15 }}
=State of Queensland, Australia=
C. l. lathami is listed as vulnerable by the Queensland, Environmental Protection Agency.
References
{{Reflist}}
=Cited texts=
- {{cite book|last=Cameron|first=Matt|title=Cockatoos|publisher=CSIRO Publishing|location=Collingwood, Victoria|year=2008|edition=1st|isbn=978-0-643-09232-7}}
- {{cite book |last=Forshaw |first=Joseph M|author2=William T. Cooper|author2-link=William T. Cooper |author-link = Joseph Forshaw|title=Australian Parrots |year=2002| edition=3rd |publisher=Alexander Editions |location=Robina |isbn=0-9581212-0-6}}
- Flegg, Jim. Birds of Australia: Photographic Field Guide Sydney: Reed New Holland, 2002. ({{ISBN|1-876334-78-9}})
- Garnett, S. (1993) Threatened and Extinct Birds Of Australia. RAOU. National Library, Canberra. ISSN 0812-8014
- Saunders, Denis A; Pickup Geoffrey (2023). A review of the taxonomy and distribution of Australia's endemic Calyptorhynchinae black cockatoos. Australian Zoologist. https://doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2023.022
External links
- [http://www.parrots.org/index.php/encyclopedia/profile/glossy_black_cockatoo/ World Parrot Trust] Parrot Encyclopedia - Species Profiles
{{Commons category|Calyptorhynchus lathami}}
{{Wikispecies|Calyptorhynchus lathami}}
{{Cockatoos}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q790668}}
Category:Birds of New South Wales
Category:Birds of Victoria (state)