View source for Blue-eyed cockatoo

{{Short description|Type of cockatoo}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Cacatua ophthalmica -Vogelpark Walsrode-6b-3c.jpg
| image_caption = At [[Walsrode Bird Park]], Germany
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Cacatua ophthalmica'' |volume=2018 |page=e.T22728429A132032417 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22728429A132032417.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Cacatua
| parent = Cacatua (subgenus)
| species = ophthalmica
| authority = [[Philip Sclater|Sclater, PL]], 1864
| range_map = Blue-eyed_Cockatoo_Distribution.jpg
| range_map_caption = The Distribution of the blue-eyed cockatoo
}}

The '''blue-eyed cockatoo''' ('''''Cacatua ophthalmica''''') is a large, mainly white [[cockatoo]] about {{Convert|50|cm|abbr=on}} long with a mobile [[Crest (feathers)|crest]], a black [[beak]], and a light blue rim of featherless skin around each eye that gives this species its name.

Like all cockatoos and many [[parrot]]s, the blue-eyed cockatoo can use one of its [[Dactyly#In birds|zygodactyl]] feet to hold objects and to bring food to its beak whilst standing on the other foot. Among bird species as a whole, this is relatively unusual.

==Description==
[[File:Cacatua ophthalmica -Vogelpark Walsrode -upper body-8a.jpg|left|thumb|At Walsrode Bird Park]]
The blue-eyed cockatoo is a large, about 50-cm-long, mainly white cockatoo with an erectile yellow and white crest, a black beak, dark grey legs, and a light blue rim of featherless skin around each eye, that gives this species its name. The sexes are very similar in appearance. Some males have  dark brown [[iris (anatomy)|iris]]es and some females have  reddish-brown irises, but this small difference is not always reliable as a sex indicator. The blue-eyed cockatoo is easily mistaken for the [[yellow-crested cockatoo|yellow-crested]] and [[sulphur-crested cockatoo]]s, but has a more rounded crest with more white to the frontal part, and a brighter blue eye-ring. The blue-eyed cockatoo reaches full maturity after 4 years and lives an average of 50 years.

Blue-eyed cockatoo has been known to make demanding, but great house pets. This bird has been called by some as the friendliest and most loving of all the [[cockatoo]] species. Household skills include mimicking owners, laying on the back of loved ones, and their love of play. Due to their interaction ability, these pets require quite a bit of attention. A lack of interaction could result in self-mutilation from the bird, that includes feather plucking.<ref name="BLI_factsheet">{{Cite web
|url=http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=30025&m=0
|title=Blue-eyed Cockatoo
|work=birdlife.org
|publisher=[[BirdLife International]]
|access-date=August 18, 2012
}}</ref>

==Diet==
The blue eyed cockatoo's diet mainly consists of various seeds and nuts, berries, and fruits. They are also known to feed on insects and their larvae. <!-- not encyclopedic how-to They also have the same diet that an extra large parrot would have. Grains make up 50% of a blue eyed cockatoo's diet. Vegetables and fruits make up 45% of the diet and seeds and nuts make up about 5% of their diet.
Grains that qualify as acceptable to give to the blue-eyed cockatoo include dry biscuits (crackers), rice, noodles, breakfast cereal such as chex and cheerios and pretzels.<ref>"Blue-Eyed Cockatoo." AllPetBirds.com. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. <http://www.all-pet-birds.com/blue-eyed-cockatoo.html>.</ref><ref>"Blue-Eyed Cockatoo." Beauty Of Birds/Avian Web. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. <http://beautyofbirds.com/blueeyedcockatoo.html>.</ref> -->

==Habitat==
The blue-eyed cockatoo is [[Endemism in birds|endemic]] to the lowland forests of [[New Britain]] east of [[New Guinea]], and it is the only cockatoo in the [[Bismarck Archipelago]]. These low-land forests consist of primary (untouched) forests, selectively logged forests, and gardened forests, or ones tended by indigenous people. In the 1960s, researchers found it difficult to find the majestic bird due to their flight routes they took in these gardened forests. Packs of the bird would fly 3,280 feet in the air, resulting in a difficult time catching a sighting of them. They are not very particular of the types of trees they choose to nest, but are found more abundantly and actively in primary forests versus gardened forests. The nests are usually located in very large trees, at an average height of {{Convert|41|m|abbr=on}}. Psittacine habits also suggest that blue-eyed cockatoos may make altitude and seasonal migratory movements throughout the year.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Stuart | first1 = J. MARSDEN | last2 = John | first2 = D. PILGRIM | last3 = Wilkinson | first3 = ROGER | year = 2001 | title = Status, abundance and habitat use of Blue-eyed Cockatoo Cacatua ophthalmica on New Britain, Papua New Guinea | journal = Bird Conservation International | volume = 11 | issue = 3| pages = 151–160 | doi = 10.1017/S0959270901000247 | doi-access = free }}</ref> As of 2012, the blue-eyed cockatoo's population ranges from 10,000 mature individuals to 15,000 individuals in general. This population, however, is declining.<ref>BirdLife International 2012. Cacatua ophthalmica. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 23 October 2014</ref>

==Status==
Initially classified as a species of [[least concern]] by the [[IUCN]] in 2004, it is suspected to have become much rarer in recent times than was assumed previously. Consequently, it was uplisted to vulnerable in 2008.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" />

The threat of this species is most likely due to the rapid clearing of lowland forest into oil plantations, in which the blue-eyed cockatoo make its nesting sites. This rapid clearing is to be thought to have an effect in the cockatoo's breeding, which would cause a decline in the population.<ref>"Blue-eyed Cockatoo." ''Birdlife International''. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. &lt;http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=30025&gt;.</ref><ref>"Blue-eyed Cockatoo." World Parrot Trust. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. <http://www.parrots.org/index.php/encyclopedia/wildstatus/blue_eyed_cockatoo/>.</ref> Illegal trade has also caused a market for this species, adding pressure to their decline. The traps used often prove to be damaging to the bird, some even consisting of branches covered in glue to capture them.<ref name="apps.webofknowledge.com">{{cite journal|last1=Marsden|first1=Stuart|last2=Pilgrim|first2=JD|last3=Wilkinson|first3=R|title= Status, abundance and habitat use of Blue-eyed Cockatoo Cacatua ophthalmica on New Britain, Papua New Guinea|journal=Bird Conservation International|date=Sep 2001|volume=11|issue=3|pages=151–160|url=http://apps.webofknowledge.com/full_record.do?product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=1&SID=1AumOZrzmaTCs9OoRZb&page=1&doc=2#|access-date=October 24, 2014|doi=10.1017/s0959270901000247|doi-access=free}}</ref> Unlike other bird species endemic to these forests, which may have been able to fare well in less densely forested areas such as "forest gardens", the blue-eyed cockatoo apparently relies on primary forested areas.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Marsden|first1=Stuart|title=Factors influencing the abundance of parrots and hornbills in pristine and disturbed forests on New Britain, PNG|journal=International Journal of Avian Science|date=Dec 2002|volume=145|issue=1|pages=43–45|doi=10.1046/j.1474-919X.2003.00107.x}}</ref> Observations have been made of the blue-eyed cockatoo in other areas of the forest, but the density of these birds seems to be greatest in the primary forest region.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cameron|first1=Matt|title=Cockatoos|date=2007|publisher=Csiro Publishing|pages=38–39|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u9qSHzxWdy0C&q=blue+eyed+cockatoo&pg=PR5|access-date=October 20, 2014|isbn=9780643092327}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{Commons category-inline|Cacatua ophthalmica}}
{{Cockatoos}}{{Taxonbar|from=Q629176}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cacatua|blue-eyed cockatoo]]
[[Category:Birds of New Britain]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1864|blue-eyed cockatoo]]
[[Category:Cockatoos]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Philip Sclater|blue-eyed cockatoo]]
[[Category:Endemic birds of Papua New Guinea]]