As the bird has a relatively long life span, the effect of these threats may not yet be fully evident on population numbers.
#Rare cockatoo breeds full
The full impact of threats such as habitat clearing and modification on the glossy black-cockatoo is still unknown. They also suffer from competition for nests from galahs and introduced honeybees. Glossy black-cockatoos are also threatened by feral cats and possums, which raid the birds' nests. Large dead trees where the birds nest may also be destroyed in a fire. Casuarina trees are very fire-sensitive, and are easily killed in an intense fire. Fragmentation of habitat reduces the chances of successful breeding.Ĭhanges to patterns of bushfires in eastern Australia since European settlement have also contributed to the loss of habitat for the glossy black-cockatoo. Scientists think that to breed successfully, glossy black-cockatoos need food trees to be near their nest trees. There has also been evidence to suggest that some glossy black-cockatoos from this region have been trapped for the illegal bird trade. The Riverina in NSW is one area in the bird's range that has suffered a major decline in population due to the removal of habitat. Since European colonisation, a major threat to the survival of the glossy black-cockatoo is habitat loss - the clearing of casuarina trees in woodland areas, and the loss of mature eucalypts for nest hollows. In NSW, the current distribution of the glossy black-cockatoo covers areas from the coast to the tablelands, and as far west as the Riverina and Pilliga Scrub. The species has become regionally extinct in parts of western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia. An isolated population of glossy black-cockatoos is also known to live on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. It is now distributed throughout an area which extends from the coast near Eungella in eastern Queensland to Mallacoota in Victoria. The glossy black-cockatoo has a patchy distribution in Australia, having once been widespread across most of the south-eastern part of the country. Brigalow scrub or hilly rocky country containing casuarina species tend to be their preferred habitat in inland NSW. Scientists think that glossy black-cockatoos prefer to live in rugged country, where extensive clearing has not taken place. The glossy black-cockatoo lives in coastal woodlands and drier forest areas, open inland woodlands, or timbered watercourses where its main food source, the casuarina (she-oak) is common.
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