On the brink of extinction – Can Indonesia's Yellow-crested Cockatoos be saved?

By Stewart Metz MD, Director, Indonesian Parrot Project

Who can resist the Yellow-crested Cockatoo (YCC) (Cacatua sulphurea)?  With their clownish recursive crests and jaunty behaviour, they are among the most favoured of cockatoos.  There are four Yellow-crested sub-species and each is at high risk of extinction, albeit to varying degrees.  CITES recently elevated this entire species to the highest level of risk: Appendix 1, “critically endangered.”  However, few studies on the YCC have been carried out, with the relative exception of the Citron-crested Cockatoo (C. sulphurea citronocristata). This article will focus on the most highly endangered sub-species - the abbotti race.

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