Abstract
We thought we had set up every security line for her. We slowly introduced her to her new mate by putting a wire divider in the aviary. We installed the perches so that they could sit side by side during the night. We observed how they interacted with each other and were happy when we saw how gentle and friendly the male was. The offspring was a healthy and happy little bird. We always had in our mind that cockatoos can get aggressive and that males sometimes kill the females. But nothing prepared me for the phone call that evening:" He killed her this morning. We tried to rescue her but when we arrived at the vet she was dead." Silence.
As a behavior consultant my first goal is to make sure that every bird is safe, secure and in good health. Had I made a mistake when I guided this owner? Had I forgotten something, not seen a sign, misinterpreted the body language? Where did I fail? I do not know. Mate aggression in cockatoos is something that nobody likes to talk about. When you see the pictures of those feathered angels, the lovely face of an umbrella or a moluccan, you don't think that this could be a vicious killer from one moment to the other. And I still do not believe that there are killers, even if those males hurt or killed females. But I wanted to know more about this topic and so my journey began.
I tried to find articles about mate aggression but was not really successful. There are a lot of breeding articles, and sometimes you find a few sentences about this topic, but nothing that really helps or explains what happens in the mind of these birds. When I asked breeders, owners and veterinarians about this behavior, I noticed that Yellow-crested cockatoos (C. sulphurea citrinocristata), Umbrella cockatoos (C. alba), Philippine cockatoos (C. haematuropygia), and Moluccan cockatoos (C. moluccanus) were the ones most known to show this behavior. There were also a few Rose-breasted cockatoos (Eolophus roseicapilla) and Coffin's cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana) known for attacking their mates. Therefore, I took a closer look at the habitat where those species live and what social structure they prefer in the wild. I realized that those species that are regularly known to attack females live in a forested area. Their social structure normally is a pair or a very small flock, not more than IO individuals. Coffin's cockatoos and Rose-breasted cockatoos, even Little Corellas (Cacatua sanguinea) live in very large flocks in the open country where they can see other individuals very quickly, even if they are far away. So living in a habitat in small flocks or even as a pair in an area where intruders are not visible seems to influence territorial behavior and aggressiveness. However there must be more to understanding this behavior.
When I work with cockatoos I often notice that the less aggressive species seem to have a mating season. I know a lot of owners whose birds get on their nerves when mating season begins. But the owners of Umbrella cockatoos, Moluccan cockatoos, and some Yellow-crested cockatoos seemed to deal with the mating season all year round. OK. Step back to the habitat!