Newsletters from 1999 to present. 
Welcome
There are 5 subspecies of Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo in Australia. The South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus banksii graptogyne) is only found in south-east South Australia and south-west Victoria. With an estimated population of about 1000 birds, the South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo is in danger of extinction.
This website relates specifically to the South-eastern subspecies.
In this website you can;
Find out about efforts to save this beautiful but endangered bird.
Look at pictures of the bird, get general information on where it lives and what it feeds on, and view Red-tail Newsletters.
You can record your own sightings of Red-tails and find out about the various activities that you can become involved in to help secure a healthy future for this magnificent bird.
We suggest you start with the general information section of the biology page, this includes a map of the range of the bird;
Ranges of the 5 subspecies of Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo
Register for the 2008 Annual Cocky Count - 3rd May 2008
Each year, on a specific day, about 200 volunteers set off into stringybark forest across the South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo’s range to hopefully find some Red-Tails and if lucky enough, count them. About 35% of volunteers are landholders who survey their own properties or nearby stringybark areas. Volunteers come from all over the bird’s range and some travel from Melbourne and Adelaide to participate. The annual count helps us to observe trends in the population and also gives us an indication of where the birds are feeding from year to year. At this time birds have moved out of Buloke areas and are all feeding in stringybark, so it narrows down the area we need to cover.
What does it involve?
Volunteers are allocated a search area. If you get in early you may be able to nominate and area although we try very hard to allocate an area that suits you. We suggest that you search during the morning, break for lunch, and resume searching later in the afternoon as the birds can be more difficult to locate in the middle of the day. You need to familiarize yourself with the call on the website and if you’re interested we generally run a workshop in the weeks prior to the count. They help you to understand what you need to look for. Searching involves driving slowly through your site and stopping to listen for the call about every 500m.
What do I need?
A keen sense of hearing and an ear tuned to the call are essential and we strongly recommend that you travel in a 4WD.
How can I register?
If you’d like to register for the 2008 annual count or you’d like more information please contact:
Tania Rajic (Project Coordinator with the Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo Recovery Team) Freecall 1800 262 062 or email rtbc@birdsaustralia.com.au,
or write to PO BOX 3473 Mt Gambier SA 5290.
Hear the difference between a Red-tail and a Yellow-tail Black-Cockatoo Listen here
View images of the Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo View here
See video footage of Red-tails. View here