Cockatoo Names

Cockatoos are some of the most popular and petted members of the parrot family. Most people like to keep them as pets because they are showy, intelligent and affectionate.

If you recently adopted or acquired a cockatoo, here is a collection of the best names for both your male or female feathered friends.

Also included are names for the different species of cockatoos plus a bonus of fun and interesting facts about these flying mates.

Female/ Girls Cockatoo Names

For your girl or female cockatoo, here are some names that will make her proud all day. 

female-Cockatoo pet bird
  • Kiki
  • Indiana
  • Hana Rose
  • Blanche
  • Franjipani
  • Apple
  • Alice
  • Samantha
  • Bonny
  • Princess
  • Nancy
  • Rosie
  • Snowy
  • Poppy
  • Penny
  • Beaky
  • Bindi
  • Faith
  • Hope
  • Patience
  • Joy
  • Elle
  • Nan
  • Granny
  • Queenie
  • Duchess
  • Marilyn
  • Rita
  • Camilla
  • Dianna
  • Mavis
  • Ethel
  • Jenny
  • Grace
  • Rose
  • Donna
  • Kath,
  • Kim
  • Lulu, Gracie

 Male/Boys Cockatoo Names

For the boys and other older male cockatoo pets, here are unique names that will sound like sweet music to them 

good male Cockatoo Names
  • Apollo
  • Brett
  • Dexter
  • Pop-eye
  • Charlie
  • Lucky
  • Thomas
  • Spike
  • Henry
  • Peter
  • Wally
  • Barney
  • Peanut
  • George
  • Ralph
  • Pop
  • Sakura
  • Melika
  • Marlu
  • Scully
  • Ceaser
  • Kevin
  • Gramps,
  • Charles
  • Jimmy
  • Hercules
  • Zeus
  • Hero
  • Kel
  • Buddy

Mixed

Cockatoos-pair
  • Bella
  • Billy
  • Lucky
  • Merry
  • Ralph
  • Sunshine
  • Star
  • Yahan
  • Mokare
  • Bennelong
  • Nimbus
  • Cirrus
  • Sky
  • Stahs
  • Heaven
  • Pearly
  • Happy
  • Jolly
  • Smiley
  • Porter
  • Frakie
  • Jerry

Cockatoo Species Names

There are 21 know species of cockatoos. Some are good as pets while others aren’t good. Following is a list of the most popular that can be kept in captivity as bird pets.

Cockatiel

This species is the easiest to maintain and is by far the most frequently kept in captivity.

cockatiel cockatoo species names
cockatiel

Adults weigh 3.2 ounces and measure about 13 inches. The most common colors; grey body with white on wings and orange cheek patches. Hens and juveniles have yellow barring on the tail. There also a variety of other colors including cinnamon, white, silver, and yellow.

cockatiel typee names and colors

Citron

Known to be among the most quiet, citron cockatoos are social and playful.

They measure 14 inches and weigh 16 ounces. They are mainly white with an orange crest and cheek patches. Their gray feet and beak.

citron cockatoo

Long-billed Corellas

Originate from Australia, they are also known as Slender-billed cockatoos. They measure 16-20 inches and weigh about 23 ounces

They come white plumage with pink cast; pink above beak and on neck; long beak; small crest.

Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo

This cockatoo is mostly known for its colorful crest. They measure 14 inches and weigh 15 ounces. Pinkish white is the dominating color. They have pink patches around their neck and underbelly. Under wings is pink. Their crest is yellow-orange with white tips.

Major Mitchell's Cockatoo

Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo

Quite popular especially on the internet, the Sulphur-crested cockatoos measure 15-20 inches and weigh between 12-31 ounces.

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Sulphur Crested

They are mostly white with a yellow crest, black feet and beak. They are highly intelligent and need plenty of space for play.

Rose-Breasted Cockatoo

Also known as galahs, they have a length of 12-15 inches and weigh about 10-15 ounces. They are said to live up to 80 years. One of their most attractive features is the distinctive pink and grey feathers.

Rose breasted cockatoo species

The lower part of face and chest is pink, the crest is pinkish-white, they have a gray back, wings, tail and feet plus a tan beak.

Black Palm Cockatoo

These large and powerful cockatoos have a smoky gray plumage and long crest. They have red patches on their cheeks with gray beak and feet. Their length about 23 inches with weigh of between 32 to 42 ounces

Black palm cockatoo
Black Palm

Moluccan Cockatoo

This cockatoo species weighs 30 ounces and measures about 20 inches. Looks: Primarily white plumage; pink feathers on base of crest; yellow to peach feathers under wings; black beak and feet.

They are affectionate birds that bond strongly with their caretakers.

moluccan cockatoo
moluccan

Umbrella Cockatoo

Umbrella cockatoo are very social/friendly pets. They have a primarily white plumage, a black beak, a large white crest with pale yellow wings and tails. Their length is 18 inches and packed with 16 to 26 ounces of weight.

They are known learn to do tricks as well as mimic speech.

Umbrella Cockatoo
Umbrella Cockatoo

Goffin’s Cockatoo

They are primarily white with pink on sides of beak and near crest. They have yellow under wings with gray feet and beak.

Measure 13 inches and weigh 8-14 ounces.

They are intelligent, highly social and are known to be slightly mischievous; characteristics that call for owners with substantial experience with cockatoos.

goffins cockatoo
Goffins

Bare-Eyed Cockatoo

They are primarily white. Have pink on the face with gray-tan beak and gray-blue eye circles. They measure 14 to 17 inches and weigh 11 to 16 ounces.

They are small, intelligent, sweet and playful. They are the best for children.

Bare-eyed cockatoo
Bare-eyed

Other cockatoo species Names

  • Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo
  • Glossy Black Cockatoo
  • Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo
  • Short-Billed Black cockatoo -Carnaby’s black cockatoo
  • Long Billed-Black cockatoo – Baudin’s black cockatoo
  • Gang-Gang cockatoo

Fun and Interesting Facts about Cockatoos

  1. Cockatoos are parrots that belong to the family Cacatuidae and the genus Cacatua. What makes them different from parrots are the crests, or tufts of feathers, on top of their heads.
  2. The word cockatoo dates from the 17th century and is a derivation from the Malay name for these birds, “kakak tua” (meaning “older sibling”) or from the call of the white cockatoo itself.
  3. Cockatoos are monogamous, mating for life.
  4. Their plumage is generally less colorful than that of other parrots, being mainly white, grey, or black and often with colored features in the crest, cheeks, or tail.
  5. The vocalizations of cockatoos are loud and harsh…but most definitely they won’t deafen you.
  6. Cockatoos have a huge strong bill, which is kept sharp by rasping the two mandibles together during rest time. The bill is complemented by a large muscular tongue which helps manipulate and de-husk seeds
  7. They have two toes pointing forward and two backward(zygodactyl). The toes act like hands. The toes in combination with the strong beak make climbing possible.
  8. They generally have long broad wings used in rapid flight, with speeds up to 70 km/h (43 mph) being recorded for galahs.
  9. Snowball is a male Eleonora cockatoo, noted as being the first non-human animal conclusively demonstrated to be capable of beat induction — perceiving music and synchronizing his body movements to the beat.
  10. Cockatoos are exceptionally smart birds. According to tests conducted by scientists, ten untrained Tanimbar corellas (Cacatua Goffin), were able to solve complex mechanical puzzles.

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