Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Cacatua galerita

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Singapore

In 3 days <5%

48 Verified sightings at Singapore
17,997 In all 18 parks From 2019 to 2026
March Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

The sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) is a relatively large white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia, New Guinea, and some of the islands of Indonesia. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being considered pests. As highly intelligent birds, they are well known in aviculture, although they can be demanding pets.

The four recognised subspecies are: A 2024 genetic study found that the Triton cockatoo is genetically distinct from the two Australian forms of sulphur-crested cockatoos, so should be considered a separate species, Cacatua triton.

The species is native to large parts of Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. Within Australia, sulphur-crested cockatoos of the nominate race have also been introduced to Perth, which is far outside their natural range. Outside Australia, they have been introduced to Singapore, where their numbers have been estimated to be between 500 and 2000. They have also been introduced to Palau and New Zealand. In New Zealand, the introduced populations may number fewer than 1000. This species has also been recorded as established in Hawaii and from various islands in Wallacea... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Alarm call0:43

Australia · 2026

© AK · XC1177819 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Begging call0:11

Australia · 2024

© Romuald Mikusek · XC1173951 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:48

Australia · 2026

© JJSUN · XC1088472 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Blue Mountains National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~80%
2 Royal National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~80%
3 Grampians National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~70%
4 Great Otway National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~70%
5 Kakadu National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~60%
6 Nitmiluk National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~60%
7 Hattah-Kulkyne National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~60%
8 Litchfield National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~50%
9 Daintree National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~50%
10 Springbrook National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~40%
11 Raja Ampat 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~40%
12 Kosciuszko National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~40%
13 Lamington National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
14 Wilsons Promontory National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
15 Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
16 Booderee National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
17 Flinders Chase 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
18 Noosa National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Sydney 🇦🇺 Australia
~60%
2 Hobart 🇦🇺 Australia
~40%
3 Melbourne 🇦🇺 Australia
~40%
4 Brisbane 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
5 Jakarta 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
6 Kaohsiung 🇹🇼 Taiwan
<5%
7 Singapore 🇸🇬 Singapore
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Disney's Animal Kingdom 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 Moscow Zoo 🇷🇺 Russia In captivity
3 ZooParc de Beauval 🇫🇷 France In captivity
4 Cleveland Metroparks Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
5 Barcelona Zoo 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
6 Australia Zoo 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity
7 Zlín-Lešná Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
8 Ostrava Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
9 Taman Safari Bali (Bali Safari) 🇮🇩 Indonesia In captivity
10 Melaka Zoo and Bird Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia In captivity
11 Heinola bird sanctuary 🇫🇮 Finland In captivity
12 Karagandy Zoo 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan In captivity
13 Le rocher des aigles 🇫🇷 France In captivity
14 San Diego Zoo Safari Park 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
15 Lion Country Safari 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
16 Tennessee Safari Park 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
17 Columbus Zoo and Aquarium 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
18 Yumka' 🇲🇽 Mexico In captivity
19 Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China In captivity
20 Kansas City Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
21 Badoca Safari Park 🇵🇹 Portugal In captivity
22 National Zoological Park Delhi 🇮🇳 India In captivity
23 Parque y Zoológico Nacional Arquitecto Manuel Valverde Podestá 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic In captivity
24 Safari World 🇹🇭 Thailand In captivity
25 Banham Zoo 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
26 Phoenix Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
27 Selwo Aventura 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
28 Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park 🇮🇳 India In captivity
29 Mysore Zoo 🇮🇳 India In captivity
30 Kyiv Zoo 🇺🇦 Ukraine In captivity
31 Night Safari 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
32 Nyíregyháza Zoo 🇭🇺 Hungary In captivity
33 National Zoo of Malaysia 🇲🇾 Malaysia In captivity
34 Gatorland 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
35 Indianapolis Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
36 Lisbon Zoo 🇵🇹 Portugal In captivity
37 Taronga Zoo 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity
38 Singapore Zoo 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
39 Fort Wayne Children's Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
40 Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife Center 🇵🇭 Philippines In captivity
41 Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity
42 Parndana Wildlife Park 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity
43 Zoo Aquarium de Madrid 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
44 Emirates Park Zoo 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates In captivity
45 Fresno Chaffee Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
46 Öland Zoo and Amusement Park 🇸🇪 Sweden In captivity
47 Surabaya Zoo 🇮🇩 Indonesia In captivity
48 Auckland Zoo 🇳🇿 New Zealand In captivity
49 Krakow Zoo 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
50 Ueno Zoo 🇯🇵 Japan In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo in Singapore?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo sighting in Singapore on a given day, based on 48 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 225th most-seen of the 298 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo in Singapore?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo in Singapore on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sulphur-crested Cockatoo sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Singapore the best place to see a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo?

7th of 7

Of the 7 cities where we can rate Sulphur-crested Cockatoo sightings, Singapore ranks 7th at under 5%. The best odds are in Sydney (Australia, about 60%), Hobart (Australia, about 40%) and Melbourne (Australia, about 40%).

Where does the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo is recorded against all the birds logged in Singapore (48 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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