Philippine Cockatoo

The Philippine Cockatoo or red-vented cockatoo scientific name ( Cacatua haematuropygia ) and and locally agay ,abukay,kalangay or katala is a monotypic species of birds of the family Cacatuidae , endemic to the Philippines.

While it was common in 1950 , it declined rapidly to the point where it numbered only 1,000 to 4,000 representatives, divided into several populations.

Identification

Philippine Cockatoo 30–31 cm 300g Unique appearance within Philippines, although escapes of other white-plumaged cockatoos could potentially occur . White could potentially occur. White , corella-type cockatoo with helmet crest and white periophthalmic skin; undertail-coverts red, edged white; underside of wings (mainly flight feathers)  and tail yellow; bill  pale grey; sexes alike, but eye dark brown in male, reddish brown in female. Immature similar to adult, with iris greyer (initially, later brown).

Description

This bird measures 30 to 31  cm for a mass of about 300  g . The plumage is white with orange undertail. The eyes are dark in adults and grayish in children.

Distribution

As its name suggests, this bird lives in the Philippines: Palawan and Siargao .

Once widespread throughout Philippines, but now restricted to Palawan (including Rasa, Dumaran, Pandanas) and Sulu Is, with a few recorded in Polillo Is and on Samar and Bohol; possibly extinct in Masbate, Siquijor, Siargao and W Mindanao .

The Philippine cockatoo or Cacatua haematuropygia is a critically endangered bird. It belongs to the psittaciformes family.
Easy to recognize, the Philippine cockatoo is dressed in all-white plumage except for a small part behind its legs, at the tail. The latter is colored with yellow, red and orange feathers.

The Philippine cockatoo feeds mainly on seeds, but occasionally it will eat fruits, buds, nectar or flowers.

Location

Once widespread throughout the islands that make up the Philippines, the number of cockatoos has decreased to a critical level.

Today, the number of individuals is estimated between 560 and 1150 but they are dispatched in several geographically separated populations. Some, too small today, unfortunately have little chance of seeing their numbers grow in the long term.

The Philippine cockatoo is found in all of the following regions:

• Palawan
• Rasa Island, near Palawan
• Rizal
• Masbate
• Sirugao Del Sur
• Bohol
• Siquijor
• Davao Occidental
• Tawi-Tawi

Threat

The threats to the Philippine cockatoo are numerous:

• The reduction of its natural environment for the benefit of human activity destroys nesting sites and isolates populations.
• Repeated catches, in order to fuel the pet black market, complicate the species’ breeding efforts. Rare and very pretty, the chicks can be resold for up to $ 300. The poachers spot in advance the nests where the pairs settle and loot them without even waiting for the weaning of the chicks. The death rate of small cockatoos is very high without their parents.
• Some farmers take a dim view of cockatoos and do not hesitate to slaughter them like other seed-eating birds. Indeed, the Philippine cockatoo has a particularly pronounced appetite for rice and corn crops. It is also frequently found there outside the breeding season.
• Weather. In particular, it was noted that too much rainfall during the laying season prevented the population from increasing. In addition, typhoons systematically cause losses.

Conservation efforts

Conservation efforts for the protection of the Philippine Cockatoo are numerous. Today, several sites where he lives are protected areas:

• The sanctuary of Rasa island
• Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park
• The “Omoi” and “Manambaling” reserves of the island of Dumaran
• A protected area north of Rizal Island
• Samar Island Natural Park

The Katala Foundation, supported by various sponsors including the Beauval Zoo in France, plays a key role in the conservation of the cockatoo. Since 1998, a very strong action plan has been put in place with the creation of the Philippine Cockatoo Conservation Program (PCCP).

The main challenges are to protect the primary and secondary forest where the cockatoo manages to reproduce and to put an end to poaching .

For the needs of the Philippine Cockatoo, forests have been specifically protected in the main areas of the bird’s range which are Palawan Island and Rasa Island.

Some successes fuel the hope of seeing this emblematic bird again in all the islands of the Philippines. In July 1998, the counts showed about twenty cockatoos on the island of Rasa. Today, following many efforts, the September 2013 counts indicated 186 individuals.

On this site, poaching has fallen sharply. The Katala Foundation invests a lot of physical and financial resources to educate and raise awareness among the populations of the need to protect the environment and wildlife.

The poachers who participated in the disappearance of the cockatoos are today its guardians. Today, the successes of Rasa Island are a case study for other protection sites.

A captive breeding program has also emerged to diversify the genetic makeup of the species, but reintroduction attempts have had mixed results. The Philippine cockatoo manages to acclimatize to a new environment but has problems linked to the too great docility of the released individuals.

Habitat

This cockatoo inhabits gallery forests and mangroves.

Originally found in dipterocarp forest in rolling country of the interior, but most of this has now been cleared; mangroves suggested to be important too. Nowadays, in non-breeding season can be found at forest edge and on nearby maize fields.

Philippine cockatoo lifespan

One specimen was still alive after 17.3 years in captivity

Movement

Never reported in large flocks, but 4–12 birds were commonly sighted before the population declined. Birds may move up to 8 km between large islands, like Palawan, to smaller islets where the birds roost and breed.

Food

This species feeds on nuts, berries, corn, and other seeds.

Diet and Foraging:Seeds, fruits, nuts and berries, ripening maize and wild bananas all recorded as food items. Raids crops with other parrots .

Reproduction

The female lays two or three eggs. Incubation lasts 28 days. The young stay in the nest for about eleven weeks.

From October, we begin to observe the formation of couples. They move and fly together, and towards the end of December they set out to find a hole in the heart of a tree to make their nest. The litters are 2 to 3 chicks. The laying takes place between the beginning of February and the end of March.

Threat

The Philippine cockatoo is a victim of trapping, capture of young, poaching, persecution of farmers, destruction of mangroves, typhoons, the introduction of invasive and predatory species. These causes have led to a reduction in the species’ population to a few hundred individuals 1 .

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Bisyllabic calls described as loud, harsh croaks or rasping sounds .

Breeding

The few nests located in the wild held nestlings in May–Jun; others were active in Feb, Mar and Apr, with recent record of incubation in Feb on Palawan. From avicultural records: clutch 2–3 eggs, size 37·7 mm × 26·7 mm ; incubation 28 days; chick has sparse medium yellow down; young remain in the nest for 9–10 weeks.

Protection of the Red-vented Cockatoo

Conservation

With the intervention of local and international organizations, on the island of Palawan a conservation program has been set up.

Converted into guards, former poachers watch over wildlife in protected areas.

Trees in which catatoos feed and reproduce are replanted.

The populations are informed about the risks of extinction of the species through regular campaigns.

Several reintroduction projects are under study 1 .

CR Critically Endangered
Names (15)
Monotypic

Systematics History

Birds of Polillo, supposedly larger, occasionally separated as race mcgregori, but doubtfully valid. Monotypic.