This watercolour artwork depicts two Red -tailed Black Cockatoos, also known as Banksian- or Bank's Black Cockatoo, is a large cockatoo native to Australia. It is more common in the drier parts of the Australia. The Forest Red-tailed Black Cockatoo and the South-eastern Red-tailed Black Cockatoo are under threat.

The other bird depicted is a Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, a large cockatoo native to the south-east of Australia. It has a short crest on the top of its head. Its plumage is mostly brownish black and it has prominent yellow cheek patches and a yellow tail band. The body feathers are edged with yellow giving a scalloped appearance. The adult male has a black beak and pinkish-red eye-rings, and the female has a bone-coloured beak and grey eye-rings. In flight, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos flap deeply and slowly, and with a peculiar heavy fluid motion. Their loud eerie wailing calls carry for long distances.

The Red-tailed Black Cockatoos is usually found in eucalyptus woodlands, or along water courses. In the more northerly parts of the Australia, these cockatoos are commonly seen in large flocks. They are seed eaters and cavity nesters. As such, they depend on trees with fairly large diameters, generally Eucalyptus. Populations in south-eastern Australia are threatened by the reduction in forest cover and by other habitat alterations.

If you would like to know more about Red-Tailed Black Cockatoos and the relationship with Aboriginal Art and culture, please read the following articles:

• Aboriginal Art & Paintings
• Aboriginal Watercolour Paintings
• Framing Instructions of Watercolour Paintings