Black Palm Cockatoo Breeding
When male Palm Cockatoos
are ready for courtship, they will display their beautiful
feathers by stretching them to their full height, and
approach the female, while calling to them at the same
time. The age of maturation in the Palm Cockatoo
is about four years old.
The Palm Cockatoos lay only one egg per year. It
takes anywhere from 30-35 days for their eggs to hatch,
and the chick needs between 70-100 days before they are
able to become almost the same height and weight of their
parents. The chick will not emerge from its nest until
approximately 100-110 days.
About two weeks after leaving its nest, the chick still
is not able to fly and is forced to depend on its parents
for another six weeks.
In captivity, the palm cockatoo
has reproduced in every month of the year. This was recorded
in the Palm Cockatoo Husbandry Manual Survey by Avicultural
Breeding and Research Center (ABRC). New York Zoological
Society's palm cockatoos at the Wildlife Survival Center
produced eggs in all but two months of the year.
Other institutions show varied and sporadic breeding
by their pairs throughout the year. This may be due to
the fact that the palm cockatoos at the latter institutions
are being housed indoors for part of the year.
Copulation of the palm cockatoo
has been observed to occur primarily in the morning after
sunrise. However, breeding behavior and copulation
have also been observed during other periods of the day.
The male palm cockatoo approaches the female with
his wings partially extended. The male's head is upright
with his crest feathers fully erect and he bows several
times before mounting the female. During this time, he
is vocalizing with a very loud whistle. Palm cockatoos
copulate like other psittacines, with the male balancing
himself on the back of the female.
Like other black cockatoo species, the palm cockatoo
lays only one egg per clutch, with an incubation period
of 28 to 31 days from laying to pipping, with an additional
3 or 4 days to hatch.