Cocky doesn't want a transmitter

Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris). The males have redi eyes, dark beaks and a fainter white patch behind the eye/cheek than the female. The female has black eyes. Image by Sandra WallaceOne of Western Australia's most mysterious birds is about to give up some of its secrets.

The Carnaby's Cockatoo is only found in the state's wheatbelt, but land clearing and habitat reduction have seen numbers decline rapidly.

Although flocks of the large black and white cockies are often seen, scientists know very little about their movements and population size.

Birds Australia and a Perth Zoo vet have been testing ways to attach radio transmitters to captive birds, hoping to track the wild populations.

Project officer Dejan Stojanovic says putting a radio tracker on a cockatoo isn't as straightforward as it sounds.

"They've got pretty strong beaks - if you're going to track something that's able to crunch up a transmitter, then it can be a very expensive process," she says.

"So we're just trying to figure out which transmitters are most likely to survive the attentions of the bill of a Carnaby's Cockatoo."