Sometimes, the diet is integrated with little bugs. 9 Cockatoos mainly populate three different territory types: dense forests characterised by a high level of temperature and humidity, flat grassy countries and arid zones of savannah in nature, cockatoos mainly eat nuts, fruits and seeds. Eleven species live only on the Australian territory 7 species live in Indonesia, New Guinea and other South Pacific islands finally, 3 species live both in New Guinea and Australia.

7 8 The cockatoos present an area more confined than proper parrots’ territory, because wild cockatoos live only in Australia and near islands. The genus studied in the present work includes Eolophus and Cacatua, part of the Tribe Cacatuini, subfamily Cacatuinae, family Cacatuidae, superfamily Cacatuoidea the other superfamilies of order Psittaciformes are Strigopoidea and Psittacoidea. 6 According to a recent work 7 revising nomenclature and classification for Psittaciformes family–group taxa mainly based on molecular investigation, cockatoos cluster in a separate group in parrot phylogeny. 6 Other differences concern anatomical and physiological aspects, because Cacatuidae, differently from Psittacidae have a different disposition of the carotid arteries and have some differences in the cranial bones. However, the most particular attribute is the typical and showy erectile crest on the cockatoos’ head. Cockatoos also have a typical geometrical feathering structure, without the shining and brilliant colours of the birds belonging to the family Psittacidae, because of the absence of the structure called ‘dyck texture’. Some features differentiate cockatoos (Cacatuidae) from parrots (Psittacidae): most cockatoos show sexual dimorphism (even if it often is slightly visible), and they usually have monochromatic or dichromatic colourations. 5 Cockatoos, together with the species belonging to the family Psittacidae (generically referred to as ‘parrots’), form the order Psittaciformes. The term ‘cockatoo’ refers to 21 avian species belonging to the family Cacatuidae.

2 3 Effective captive breeding programmes require high reproductive efficiency to be successful 4 however, scientific data about reproductive parameters in cockatoos are very rare, considering the high number of species belonging to the genus Cacatua. Captive reproduction of cockatoos supplies a powerful tool for reducing the economic motivation to capture endangered species of birds from the wild. Cockatoos species are worldwide well known as pet birds 1 their high economical value very often support the illegal trade of these endangered exotic species.

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