Our Little Prince from Indonesia

“Wow, why is there a baby crying?”

If you are at Hong Kong Island West, and hear the sounds of a baby crying pitifully from the sky, don’t be afraid, it’s not a ghost! Try to find it : it has a white body, and a pale yellow crest that puffs up and down. It has a lot of facial expressions, like a prince full of self-confidence.

It is the Yellow-crested Cockatoo! (Cacatua sulphurea).

Hong Kong has about 200 Yellow-crested Cockatoos, and their habitats are large parks in the Central and Western District and the Mid-levels areas. This number accounts for a whopping 10% of the global population of Yellow-crested cockatoos. However, they are not native to Hong Kong - they originate from Indonesia and East Timor.

Location of Indonesia and East Timor

They look adorable, with a lively personality and are unafraid of humans. This is why the Yellow-crested Cockatoo is so well-loved by us. But their adorable looks have brought ill luck to them: over hunting at the end of the 19th century to meet the demand of the exotic pet bird trade has led to a sharp decrease in their numbers, and by the end of the 20th century, large-scale deforestation for farmland in Indonesia destroyed their habitat, led to a further decrease in the Yellow-crested Cockatoo population. In 2000, The Yellow-crested Cockatoo was listed as “Critically Endangered” under the IUCN watchlist, and in 2005 it has even been listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, banning all international trade. Yet poaching continues, thus the world only has about 2000 Yellow-crested Cockatoos left in the wild.

But what made them fly 3000 miles from Indonesia to Hong Kong?

Experts estimate that the Yellow-crested Cockatoo arrived along with a merchant’s ship in 1850, and escaped during the transaction process. Some say that they were the descendants of the pet birds of Hong Kong Governor Sir Mark Aitchison Young, or the Commander-in-Chief of Hong Kong. The pet birds were released in 1941 during the Fall of Hong Kong during the Japanese invasion. As the Western District had country parks, and large afforested urban parks, the Yellow-crested Cockatoo had a suitable breeding environment, such as large tree holes and an ample supply of fruits. Along with the prohibition on the hunting of wild birds by the law, they could survive and reproduce in the afforested areas around the edge of the city, spreading in number across Hong Kong.

The Yellow-crested Cockatoo, finding itself in a foreign place, has surprisingly taken root in Hong Kong. At present, the Yellow-crested Cockatoos living in Hong Kong have become the largest colony outside of their native habitat. It is hard to believe that the “concrete jungle” people often refer to as Hong Kong can play such an important role in the conservation of a critically endangered species with the presence of country parks and urban afforestation.

* IUCN “critically endangered” category shows that said species faces a very high chance of becoming extinct. It is just below the threat level of being “extinct in the wild”.

---

Some visitors told us they have seen Yellow-crested Cockatoos in Australian captivity, the ones they have seen there could be another species, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo.

Yellow-crested Cockatoos and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (Cacatua galerita) have many similarities in their outlooks, they both belong the family Cacatuidae. There are 21 species in this family. The latin name Cacatuidae is derived from the word Kakatua is Malay, which means old lady, maybe because of cockatoos long life-span, normally around 40 years and some could live up to 60-80!

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita

Mainly distributed in Australia, New Guinea and part of Indonesia. The feather colour is very similar to Yellow-crested Cockatoo, but distinctively larger in size, with an average body length of 45cm or above (the average of Yellow-crested Cockatoo is 30-38cm), largest recorded Sulphur-crested Cockatoo has a body length of 52cm and weights up to 1kg. The wild population in Australia has over 100,000 individuals, protected by the local laws.

Other Cockatoos

From left

1. Carnaby's Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris), endemic to south-western Australia, no distribution in Hong Kong, IUCN Red List Endangered species. ©️ Brenda Clarke 2. Major Mitchell's Cockatoo (Lophocroa leadbeateri), endemic to Australia, IUCN Red List Least Concerned. ©️Richard.Fisher 3. Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus), widely distributed in New Guinea and small parts of northern Australia, IUCN Red List Least Concerned but the population number is decreasing. ©️Doug Janson 4. Blue-eyed Cockatoo (Cacatula ophthalmica), endemic to New Britain, Papua New Guinea, IUCN Red List Vulnerable. ©️Tobias

5. Salmon-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis), endemic to some of the Indonesia islands, IUCN Red List Vulnerable. ©️Mahbob Yusof