By TOSHIYUKI TAKEYA/ Staff Writer
February 4, 2022 at 07:30 JST
Editor's note: This is part of a series of videos offering an up-close perspective on the animal kingdom. A special 360-degree video camera system was set up in zoos and other facilities to show how the animals view their world as they interact.
Also visit our special 360-DEGREE LIVES page (http://t.asahi.com/360lives), where you can watch all the previous videos.
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With its signature colorful crest, the Major Mitchell’s cockatoo is considered the most beautiful of all cockatoos.
Measuring about 40 centimeters in length, the large parrot species lives as pairs or in small flocks in arid regions of inland Australia.
It has pale pink plumage from face to stomach, while its back and wings are white. Its crest shows bands of white, red, yellow and red.
A pair of Major Mitchell’s cockatoos are kept at the Campbelltown Forest of Wild Birds in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture.
With an average life expectancy of between 40 and 60 years, the birds don’t pair up unless they have good chemistry with each other, according to zoo attendant Shinji Hara.
The bird expresses its emotions by how it spreads its crest.
“The crest opens up when it is excited or alarmed, and it is closed when it is relaxed,” Hara said.
Birds tend to stay away from their food when a video camera is present because the lens apparently looks like a big eye to them.
But against expectations, the pair approached their meal with their crests spread soon after seeds and fruits were served on two trays.
The crests differentiate parrots from parakeets.
The Campbelltown Forest of Wild Birds was founded in 1995 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the sister city partnership between Koshigaya and the Australian city.
About 300 birds from 23 species given by Campbelltown are kept for display there.
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A male Major Mitchell’s cockatoo, right, sits beside his female mate. (Toshiyuki Takeya)
