Updated 7
Mar 2019, 11:33pm
A rare
and beautiful cockatoo, known as the "Ringo Starr" of the bird world,
could be extinct in Australia within a decade unless urgent action is taken to
protect its habitat in a remote part of Queensland.
Key
points:
The Palm
Cockatoo is extremely rare and is the only bird in the world that uses a tool
musically.
Researchers
are worried the bird will be extinct in a couple of decades due to habitat loss
and low reproductive success.
The
cockatoo is currently listed as vulnerable but researchers are building a case to
reclassify it as endangered.
The Palm
Cockatoo, which can make its own musical instrument, is only found on the top
of Cape York in far north Queensland but its numbers are declining rapidly.
Researchers
fear the distinctive black bird, which is Australia's largest cockatoo, could
soon disappear because its habitat is being lost to mining and land clearing.
Professor
Robert Heinsohn from the Australian National University has been studying the
Palm Cockatoo since the 1990s and describes it as "one of the spectacles
of the bird world".
"They
are magnificent large parrots and very ancient ... right from the start of the
family tree for parrots ... and they are just incredibly striking to look
at," he said.
"They
not only look good but are the rock stars of the bird world ... making
drumsticks from branches and banging out tunes to attract the bird
ladies."
Professor
Heinsohn said the Palm Cockatoo is the only bird in the world that uses a tool
musically.
"They
break off a branch and peel back the bark, they whittle it down to about 30
centimetres and they hold it in their foot and tap on the edge of their nest
hollow," he said.
"They
have a very good sense of rhythm and different styles of drumming signatures.
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