Yellow-Tailed 

Black-Cockatoo

Calyptorhynchus funereus

George Shaw was the first to describe the species, in 1794.

Calyptorhynchus combines the Greek kaluptos (hidden) and rhunkhos (beak), referring to the dense feathers that cover the lower mandible; funereus relates to the bird’s sombre plumage, as if dressed for a funeral.

William T. Cooper, Yellow-tailed Cockatoo (Calyptorhyncus funereus funereus) (adult male, front) and 

White-tailed Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus latirostris) (adult female, behind) 1970

Author’s note: When Cooper painted the Yellow-tailed Cockatoo and the White-tailed Cockatoo in the 1960s, they were regarded as one species. The White-tailed Black-Cockatoo is now regarded as separate.

Frederick Polydore Nodder or Richard Polydore Nodder,
The Funereal Cockatoo 1794

Author’s note: Nodder’s illustration is the first published of the species.

Ebenezer Edward Gostelow, The Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus) 1929 (immature)

Author’s note: Like all black-cockatoos, the female Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo has a whitish bill whereas the male’s is black. In common with the two white-tailed black-cockatoos, the male is also distinguished by its red eye-ring (the female’s is grey).