Gang-gang Cockatoo

About

The gang-gang cockatoo is the faunal emblem of the Australian Capital Territory, found in cool, wet forests and woodlands of the mountains and tablelands of south-eastern Australia. It was uplisted from Vulnerable to Endangered under Australia's EPBC Act in 2022 after the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires burned a large share of its habitat.

How to spot it

A small, stocky cockatoo (32-37cm). Males have an unmistakable wispy, curled bright-red head and crest against slate-grey body plumage; females are all grey with a smaller grey crest. The call is distinctive - a creaky, grinding growl often likened to a rusty gate hinge or a cork being pulled from a bottle. Found in tall mountain forest over summer, moving to lower woodlands (including suburban Canberra) in winter.

Found in

• Namadgi National Park
• Kosciuszko National Park
• Alpine National Park
• Mount Buffalo National Park
• Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve
• Black Mountain Nature Reserve, Canberra Nature Park