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Mathews' cockatoo

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Mathews' cockatoo
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Cacatuidae
Genus: Cacatua
Species:
Subspecies:
C. g. fitzroyi
Trinomial name
Cacatua galerita fitzroyi
Mathews, 1912

The Mathews' cockatoo or northern sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita fitzroyi) is a subspecies of the sulphur-crested cockatoo. Its scientific name relates to the area in which it was first found, the Fitzroy River[1] and its common name comes from Gregory Mathews, the Australian ornithologist who first identified it as a subspecies in 1912.[2][3]

Characteristics

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It is white, with a significantly long yellow crest.[1] This subspecies differs from the greater sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita galerita) in that they have a pale blue eye ring instead of white, the yellow feathers are slightly darker, and the crest feathers are longer.[4]

Distribution

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It is distributed between the Fitzroy River and the Gulf of Carpentaria of North Australia.[1][5] It is also common to Melville Island and some of the larger islands off the northern coast of Australia. During the 1930s the birds were released in Perth region, where there is now a considerable population.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Cacatua galerita fitzroyi (Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (fitzroyi)) - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  2. ^ Mathews, Gregory Macalister; American Ornithologists' Union; British Ornithologists' Union (1927), Systema avium Australasianarum = A systematic list of the birds of the Australasian region, British Ornithologists Union, retrieved 31 July 2020
  3. ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2020). The Eponym Dictionary of Birds. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781472982698.
  4. ^ "Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita)". World Parrot Trust. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  5. ^ Decoteau, A. E. (1981). Handbook of Cockatoos. T.F.H. Publications. ISBN 9780866227988.
  6. ^ Mulawka, Edward John (2016). The Cockatoos: A Complete Guide to the 21 Species. McFarland. p. 67. ISBN 9781476614717.