Cacatua pastinator - Western Corella

Western Corella is a medium sized stocky white cockatoo with a white crest. Small crimson pink coloring between the beak and eyes and a small pink patch on the throat. Bases of feathers on head and breast washed with pink/orange. The wings are broad and rounded. The underside of the wing and tail is pale yellow. The eye-ring is blue-grey and continues into an area of naked skin below the eye. The beak is dull grey; adults have a relatively long beak though not as long as the Long-billed Corella. The legs are dark grey.

Male and female look similar but males are slightly larger and have a deeper call. Juveniles has a much shorter beak and can easily be confused for a Little Corella.

Size: 43-48 cm
Weight: 560-815 g

Western Corella look similar to the other corellas and are often confused, but the size of the bill and crest and also the red coloration on lores and breast distinguish these species:

• Long-billed Corella (Cacatua tenuirostris) has the largest bill; the head is also larger but the crest is much shorter than the other two species. The red area on the lores continue over the eye. The red patch on the throat is wider and look like a “cut throat”.
• Western Corella (Cacatua pastinator) has a large bill but smaller than Long-billed Corella. The crest is much longer than the Long-billed Corella. The red area on the lores is just a small patch between the eye and bill. The red patch on the throat is much smaller than on Long-billed Corella and may be barely visible on some birds.
• Little Corella (Cacatua sanguinea) The bill is much smaller and the upper and lower mandibles are of similar length. The crest is slightly shorter than Western Corella but larger than the Long-billed Corella. The red coloration of throat is missing. The red area on the lores is smaller and a paler red color.