A glossy black cockatoo Calyptorhynchus lathami from Kuringai NP, just north of Sydney Australia Photo: Ian SandersonGriffith University wants at least 120 people to go bird watching on the Gold Coast next month.
The university is coordinating a census on May 9 of glossy black cockatoos, which are listed as vulnerable in Queensland.
Griffith's Dr Guy Castley says the tally will help researchers better understand how many black cockatoos there are, where they are and what they do.
"We started the research a couple of years back to try and get a better idea of just which habitats the birds are using," he said.
"How reliant are the birds on certain feeding locations - how important are patches of remnant vegetation for nesting purposes? Because the glossy blacks need hollow trees to breed in.
"We've been trying to actually catch some of them and put some radio transmitters on them to track them but that''s been a bit difficult and we haven't caught any as yet."