Killarney Cockatoos

By Holly

You all know cockatoos, squawking in the trees or flying above the playground at school. Cockatoos are smart. They even seem cheeky all the time. Yet today I am not going to go on about why they are so crazy, I am going to explain some facts about cockatoos and how they act at school.

Foods they can and cannot eat

At recess and lunch, you possibly may not spot as many cockatoos as you see during class time, late after school or early in the morning. This is because after you have left the playground, mostly after recess and lunch, you may have left your lunch box open or some food scraps. This one of cockatoos most fortunate timing. They go down down to wherever you left your lunch, among with many other birds, and eat what was left in your lunch box..

BUT!

While they eat your food scraps, they are unaware that some foods are very poisonous to them. These are only some of them that can cause great harm to them:

• Avocado (Yes, they can get VERY sick from eating them)
• Chocolate
• Fruit pits/Apple seeds
• Salty foods

DO NOT, under any circumstances, let them eat those foods or leave your lunch box outside so they are able to access them.

Cockatoo can safely eat an assortment of these foods:

• Fruits (Remember, no fruit pits)
• Nuts
• Berries
• Some eat certain insects and their larvae
• Seeds (not apple ones)
• Blossoms
• Roots
• Vegetation/leaf buds

While cockatoos are allowed to eat these foods, it would be best if you don’t feed them at all!

Behaviour

Cockatoos are mostly seen flying around the trees or squawking noisily with their friends. You may think they are a crazy bunch of birds (which they sort of are), but they are actually an intelligent type of bird. They have a relatively large sized brain, about the same size as their head. It is quite small but they are pretty smart.