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Australian Journal of Zoology Australian Journal of Zoology Society
Evolutionary, molecular and comparative zoology
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 53(3)

The glossy black-cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus) spends little time and energy foraging on Kangaroo Island, South Australia

Tamra F. Chapman A B C and David C. Paton A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.

B Present address: Department of Conservation and Land Management, Locked Bag 104, Bentley Delivery Centre, Bentley, WA 6983, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: tamrac@calm.wa.gov.au

Australian Journal of Zoology 53(3) 177-183 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO04059
Submitted: 22 July 2004  Accepted: 8 April 2005   Published: 16 June 2005

Abstract

The endangered Kangaroo Island glossy black-cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus) relies entirely on the seeds of the drooping sheoak (Allocasuarina verticillata) for food. The time budget of the glossy black-cockatoos and their foraging behaviour was recorded to provide an indication of whether their food supply was likely to be limiting. The foraging behaviour of non-breeding and breeding cockatoos was also compared to record the strategy they used to collect the additional energy needed to raise young. Glossy black-cockatoos spent a relatively small proportion of their time foraging, suggesting that the food supply was abundant in the habitats used for feeding. Non-breeding birds spent only 26% of their time feeding and breeding birds spent only 36% of their time feeding. The cockatoos spent 0.4% of their time flying, foraged in a mean of only five trees per day and harvested cones in no more than five bouts per tree. This shows that the cockatoos made few movements between drooping sheoaks and within the canopy of the sheoaks when foraging. When breeding, the cockatoos spent significantly more time per day foraging, cropped cones in significantly more bouts per tree and harvested significantly more cones per tree than non-breeding birds. This shows that breeding birds increased their energy intake without greatly increasing movement between trees. The small number of movements made by glossy black-cockatoos when foraging on Kangaroo Island reflects the abundance of food trees and may be a strategy to reduce the risk of predation.


Acknowledgments

This study was conducted as part of the glossy black-cockatoo recovery program and was supported by an Australian Postgraduate Research Award. Additional support came from the Australian Research Council, the Wildlife Conservation Fund, the South Australian National Parks Foundation and the Save the Bush Fund. The laboratory facilities of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Adelaide were used to carry out this project. Stephen Garnett assisted with the development of methods for recording the time-budget of individual cockatoos and designed the database for storing time-budget data. Some of the time-budget data in this study were collected with Stephen’s assistance. Stephen Garnett and Lynn Pedler provided information on the location of glossy black-cockatoo roost and nest trees. We thank the many Kangaroo Island landholders who allowed us to make observations on their land. Peter Mawson and two anonymous referees improved drafts of this paper.


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