Cacatua Galerita Galerita

[ShreddedOakAviary]

My breeder friends has a Galerita Galerita for sale, and I'm thinking about buying him. We don't see them in captivity very often, their difficult to sell because people mistake them as a Triton and I am starting to think that if I want to help ensure they don't disapear from captivity I should start the long process of finding him a mate. I googled sulfur crest cockatoo and found quite a few photos of birds that people claimed are a Greater Sulfur crest that are actually a Galerita Galerita. They are from Australia and the key differences between them and a greater are this...

Galerita Galerits has a white eye ring......... Greaters have a blue eye ring
Galerita Galeritas have a large body and a head that looks almost too small for it's body
They are also the same length as moluccan cockatoos (about 20")

They are regarded as the most gentle of all the cockatoos.

He is a beautiful bird, and I'm really thinking about it...

Just wanted to share

 

[oled]

Exciting, hope you do it and shere your project with us. Good luck!

 

[suebee]

oh you know you want too!!!!

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

He's $3000.

I'm still thinking....lol

I already have a lot of cockatoos....

They are my speciality though....

I'll never be able to sell babies....

But he's really rare and pretty....

I love cockatoos....

My aviary is almost full....

Could put up another building....

He really likes me and is super sweet....

I don't need more cockatoos....

But I really want to make sure other people get to enjoy them for years to come....

I'm gonna have to sleep on it! Lol

 

[suebee]

sweet dreams then lol

 

[Pedro]

Are you serious they are a dime a dozen here in OZ. The cost of a hand-reared baby is $300 here. There is so many of them the farmers are killing them because they destroy their crops. Sorry. They are also the cause of PBFD in the wild.

I do have a SC Too, the same sub-species as shreadedoak is thinking of buying.

There are 3 sub-species here. They are the galerita galerita, which is the largest & most comon one. Then galerita queenslandica which is a lot smaller, are from Cooktown north to Cape York, & last but not least the one with the blue eye ring, galerita fitzroyi these come from Western Aust. Other names for them are Greater Sulphur-crested Too, White Too & Grand. We always refer to them as SC Too's or White Too's.

They are a nice bird but i wouldn't agree with they are the most gentle Too, far from it, they usually are a handfull & to many are ending up in Parrot rescues or are let lose to fend for themselves in the wild,because carers haven't a clue how to train them. Main reasons is biting & screaming.

Good luck in your quest.

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

Yeah Pedro believe it or not you can't find them here hardly at all. I am aware they are (to put it midly) a pest in Australia, but we can't find them in America

 

[Bullitr]

Good luck.

 

[Amber]

Yeah Pedro believe it or not you can't find them here hardly at all. I am aware they are (to put it midly) a pest in Australia, but we can't find them in America

If I could, I'd send you some to save them from being shot. Farmers are not supposed to (native/protected wildlife) but on farms, policing these things rarely happen. They are supposed to use scare guns to shoo them away, but the birds learn within weeks that the scare gun is harmless. Kill some, and they leave petty quick, and that particular flock is unlikely to return any time soon once they make the connection. {We're not supposed to kill brown snakes either for the same reasons, being native wildlife, but hey, if it's in my yard, I'm not risking death (venomous/deadly)!}

If it does console you some over how rare they are overseas, they, and sulphurs/crested toos in general, along with the gallahs and little corellas, are very numerous here in both the wild (and increasing thanks to agriculture and the increase in food they can access, even if some get shot doing so) and also in captivity as pets (wild chicks and young birds regularly end up tamed and living with people for whatever reasons, as well as aviculturalist breeding them, etc. No shortage here.) and I doubt they will be lost from aviculture any time soon as a result... I know that doesn't make it easier or you to acquire them, but we have a very healthy and numerous wild population from which (with a permit) birds can be taken for aviculture and with further permits (to prevent parrot trafficking and mass trappings like what happens elsewhere overseas for profit, and to also ensure their welfare), exported.

And a shortage of a species in captivity (in this case, the Galerita Galerita in America) generally (not always) helps to ensure they are bought and remain in loving, knowledgeable hands...

Despite all that, I say go for it, especially if your country has strict import laws like we do. (We can export birds, but good luck importing them, even if they are native species!) as then it is quite possible that you do have a small population to work with that is unlikely to be increased via imports...

 

[lene1949]

Amber... I'm pretty sure we cannot export native birds out of this country... That's why they're running low in the US..

 

[Amber]

Amber... I'm pretty sure we cannot export native birds out of this country... That's why they're running low in the US..

We can export birds within limits. Non native captive bred animals can be exported, and within extreme regulations some native birds can be too. It is a long and arduous process. I can remember a breeder friend when I was a kid (See, less then 10 years ago) exporting a breeding pair or red tailed blacks to a zoo overseas, and all the hassles she had. But they did make it to the zoo eventually.

In theory, Australia has banned the export of native birds since 1960. In reality their are ways around it, such as when the birds are going to be used in conservation projects in well respected establishments (zoos etc) overseas, and are being supplied by respected establishments. The law is in place to prevent parrot trafficking/mass export/trapping for cash to protect our native species. The law itself doesn't ban all export, to the average joe it does though, because the few avenues remaining are only open to zoos and similar establishments involved in conservation.

A comparable thing is how in theory China also bans the export of pandas, to prevent people taking them from the wild for profit, but Zoos overseas are still legally supplied with them from the country (often wild caught, occasionally captive bred) due to conservation reasons.

As far as I know Galerita Galerita are not CITES listed. In theory they could be exported, one zoo to another overseas or similar. As birds breed, zoos often release chicks and excess birds to high end aviculturalists and conversationalists, and a trickle down effect then happens where the numbers increase amongst these people, and are sold to the next notch down on the aviculture ladder (the hobbyist/home breeder) where theire numbers increase further, and they become available to the masses (supply now meets demand) and more and more people have access to owning one. This model is how some more recent exotic birds have become available in Aus. I don't like it as it contributes to the already overwhelming number of parrots in captivity, but there you go.

What compounds the issue is that Americans can't really IMPORT them either. I would think their would be loopholes for zoos and the like though? However, thats why their numbers are decreasing in American aviculture, as they are not being bred enough to sustain the captive population over there, and don't have the imports to bump up the numbers and provide new bloodlines. Therefore, the only birds they have to work with are the current population. If that goes, unless they are imported again and breed readily in zoos/captivity and we get that trickle down effect, they will likely disappear from American aviculture.

Funny how birds can be rare in captivity in one part of the world, but overrunning a country both in captivity and the wild elsewhere!

 

[Amber]

More loopholes involve taking your pet overseas

Exporting native household pets

In general, Australian native animals are not permitted to leave Australia. This is to protect and conserve Australian native wildlife.
But you may be able to take some native pets overseas as long as they will not be used for commercial purposes such as selling or trading. If you would like to take your pet with you when you leave Australia, you must:

• be an Australian resident or ordinarily reside in Australia
• have owned and kept the animal as a household pet
• be leaving Australia with the intention of taking up permanent residence in another country.

Native household pets that may be taken internationally are listed below. All have a limit of three animals, except budgerigars and cockatiels, which are limited to a non-commercial quantity:

• Sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita)
• Galah (Eolophus roseicapillus)
• Little corella (Cacatua sanguinea)
• Long-billed corella (Cacatua tenuirostris)
• Cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus)
• Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus).

And as long as birds are not being exported for commercial reasons (see the zoo loophole) it may be approved. Example? Say I have 100 birds I'd like to export to the Americian zoos and some chosen aviculturalists to bump up their numbers, and I and they will make no profit from it.

In theory, if I was going to the States with the intention of permanent residence I could also take up to three (or an unlimited no of cockatiels and budgies) from this list with me, provided I could prove they were pets. Once I was there however, it is not policed whether I use them to breed or not.

Therefore within aus, PETS can be exported, and within limits animals can be exchanged and imported/exported through zoologicial associations and occasionally high end avicultual associations for conservation purposes.

The more you know!

And yes, I have worked in import and export of animals. I used to breed and keep exotic fish and aquaia and sell and trade on the international market. I am very familiar with the laws surrounding Australian fauna/flora export. Birds DO have tougher regulations though.

 

[mtdoramike]

Sounds to me like you have already made up your mind, you just haven't made the drive yet to get him hahahahaha. I say go for it. They are rare in my area as well. But then again, Eclectus are rare in my area as well.

 

[lene1949]

Thank you, Amber... very informative posts.

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

Went to my breeder friends place again today (to drop off 600 newspapers, pick up a portable brooder tol transport day ones in, etc), and there he was just daring me to take him home... lol.

She has a few new adult birds that have been dropped off as well... Among them a Greenwing that is men and hates people.... so I opened the cage and he came right out to me, a mean as sin Goffin mate mangler looking for a place to stay, a BEAUTIFUL Elenora cockatoo, and I realized that I just needed to go home empty handed today. I have got about 11 of her kennels I need to return from picking up birds (most have gone to other homes), and I just dropped off a yellow nape I weaned for her (who sold to a lady who has been looking for an amazon and stopped by about 5 minutes after I got there...lol )

Point is, for me I am proud I managed to come home empty handed!

Next time I'll pick him up.... maybe.

If he doesn't sell at the Denver, CO bird show Nov 12 and 13; then at that point I'll probably buy him

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

It probably sounds bad that I come home with birds from her place so often, but she and I do a bit of handfeeding for eachother, she gets a lot of birds dumped at her place and so do I, so birds are always moving back and forth, it's just lately I am dealing with so many babies I really don't have time to think about more birds.... I'll think about it as I stare at him in Denver.... oh God please someone come to the show and buy him!...lol . Then I wouldn't have the option....lol!

 

[lene1949]

It probably sounds bad that I come home with birds from her place so often, but she and I do a bit of handfeeding for eachother, she gets a lot of birds dumped at her place and so do I, so birds are always moving back and forth, it's just lately I am dealing with so many babies I really don't have time to think about more birds.... I'll think about it as I stare at him in Denver.... oh God please someone come to the show and buy him!...lol . Then I wouldn't have the option....lol!

:emoticonc Good for you... lol... it can be extremely difficult to come out of a bird place without a bird... Well done!

 

[TooLover]

Hi there. I am looking for a baby Cacatua Galerita Triton. After sharing nine years of the closest relationship I've ever had in my life with a creature, no other species could compare. I'm still in unending grief over the loss of my beautiful "Chicken." Does anyone know the personality or aggressiveness difference between male and female Tritons?

Thank you so much.
Glenda