Southwestern Australia is home to three species of black cockatoo; Baudin’s Black Cockatoo, Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo, and the southwestern subspecies, the Forest Red-tailed Black Cockatoo. Sadly, all three are listed as 'threatened' under state and federal legislation.
Understanding and Encouraging Black Cockatoos into your Native Garden #
Due to large scale land clearing of trees for agriculture and urban development along the Swan Coastal Plain and into the Wheatbelt, these iconic birds are in decline as they've lost key habitat and food sources. Naturally slow to reproduce, increased bushfires are also destroying food sources and nesting hollows, sometimes containing their young chicks unable to fly. Feral European honeybees and other animals also take over their nest hollows, and increased attacks by ravens is also contributing to their rapid decline.
With their habitat fragmented, Black Cockatoos need to travel further to reach food and shelter, putting them at risk of being hit by trucks and cars. They are also poached and shot illegally.
What you can do: Create food and nesting sources to bring Black Cockatoos to your native garden with the plants on our list; the ones marked with an * are especially important!
Acacia saligna
Agonis flexuosa
Allocasuarina fraseriana
Banksia ashbyi
Banksia prionotes*
Banksia telmatiaea
Callistemon phoeniceus
Corymbia calophylla*
Corymbia ficifolia
Eremophila glabra
Eucalyptus caesia
Eucalyptus erythrocorys
Eucalyptus loxophleba
Eucalyptus patens
Eucalyptus preissiana
Eucalyptus wandoo*
Grevillea robusta
Hakea laurina
Hakea lissocarpha
Hakea petiolaris
Hakea prostrata
Hakea trifurcata
Xanthorrhoea preissii
For more information and advice to help you choose the best native plants for Black Cockatoos, please visit our native plant nursery - open to the public Monday to Friday in Hazelmere, WA. With the help of dedicated volunteers, we grow over 200,000 native trees and plants in our community nursery in Perth.