Carnaby's Black Cockatoos are a large, long-lived cockatoo
native to southwestern Australia. The main threat to their rapidly-disappearing
population seems to relate to their need for large hollow trees to nest in. In many
areas hollow trees have been cut for firewood, or simply because people perceived them
as dying and useless. Additionally, the birds need feeding areas such as heath lands
nearby so that they can feed their young and teach fledglings how to
survive.
Standing hollow trees need to be protected
immediately. This could be done by law, or by offering some sort of financial incentive
to the landowner. In areas where there are still large trees with nesting cavities,
planting patches of food plants nearby would be a good idea, again with some sort of
compensation or incentive.
Poaching of these birds is still
a problem, so more intensive monitoring and enforcement activities are needed,
particularly during the nesting season when the birds are most vulnerable to
poaching.
Invasive species are also competing with the
cockatoos for nesting sites. Research should be done to see if putting up artificial
hollow trees or nest boxes will help alleviate this
problem.
Monitoring success will be measured by how many
nests successfully fledge young, and by population
counts.
There is a link
to the government's actual species recovery plan for this bird.
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