Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo

This is a striking tail feather from a Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo, one of Australia’s largest parrots. The bird itself is massive and brownish-black with a short crest and a large, powerful bill. In flight, these birds are instantly recognizable by their slow, rhythmic wingbeats and the brilliant yellow panels in their tails, which are clearly visible in this specimen.

Dull brownish-black base color with prominent bright yellow horizontal panels. The yellow is not a solid band but is finely speckled or vermiculated with dark markings, which is a characteristic feature of the species.

Mostly pennaceous and stiff, designed for flight stability and display. The barbs are tightly interlocked except at the edges and tip where they have become frayed and separated due to wear.

Coarse and stiff; the surface is matte rather than glossy. The feather feels quite rigid, providing the necessary strength for a large bird's tail during flight and steering.

Diagnostic brownish-black ground color with a broad, speckled yellow panel across the vane. Size and stiffness identify it as a tail feather from a large parrot.

Damp temperate forests, woodland, and pine plantations. They are common in both native eucalyptus forests and urban areas with suitable food trees.

Endemic to South-Eastern Australia, spanning from central Queensland down through New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and throughout Tasmania.

High-level seed predator and bio-indicator of forest health. They play a role in forest management by breaking open dead wood to find wood-boring grubs, helping to cycle nutrients.

Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo (Zanda latirostris) has white tail panels. The Glossy Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami) has red or orange-red tail panels.

These cockatoos have a very slow reproductive rate, often raising only one chick every two years. Their eerie, wailing 'kee-ow' call is a quintessential sound of the Australian bush.

Fair. The feather shows significant distal wear (fringing at the tip) and barb separation along the edges, suggesting it was naturally molted after a long period of use.