dead tree), keeping guard. This is so well known that it has even entered Australian slang: a person keeping guard for sudden police raids on illegal gambling gatherings is referred to as a cockatoo or cocky for short. Pest status In some parts of Australia, sulphur-crested cockatoos can be very numerous, and may cause damage to cereal and fruit crops and newly planted tree seedlings, as well as soft timber on houses and outdoor furniture. Consequently, they are sometimes shot or poisoned as pests. A government permit is required for any culling, because the birds are a protected species under the Australian Commonwealth Law. Aviculture Sulphur-crested cockatoos may no longer be imported into the United States as a result of the Wild Bird Conservation Act (WBCA). However, they have been bred in captivity, with Eleonora and Triton cockatoos the most common subspecies seen in aviculture in the USA and Europe. They are socially demanding pets and have a natural desire to chew wood and other hard and organic materials. They are also loud, often unleashing loud squawks or piercing screeches. They may also make aggressive, unpredictable movements which can frighten people and animals unaware of the accompanying affection. One cockatoo called Fred was still alive at 100 years of age in 2014. Cocky Bennett of Tom Ugly's Point in Sydney was a celebrated sulphur-crested cockatoo who reached an age of 100 years or more. He had lost his feathers and was naked for much of his life, and died in the early years of the twentieth century. His body was stuffed and preserved after death. Another 'cocky', born in 1921 and residing in Arncliffe with his owner Charlie Knighton, was 76 years old in the late 1990s. Sulphur-crested cockatoos, along with many other parrots, are susceptible to psittacine beak and feather disease, a viral disease, which causes birds to lose their feathers and grow grotesquely shaped beaks. The disease occurs naturally in the wild, and in captivity. References Bibliography Further reading External links Sulphur-crested cockatoo videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection Photograph of "Cocky" Bennett, 115 years old in this photo State Library of Victoria SCC research program run out of the Sydney Botanical Gardens Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos Guide: Housing - Breeding - Feeding sulphur-crested cockatoo Birds of New Britain Birds of New Guinea Birds of Australia Talking birds sulphur-crested cockatoo sulphur-crested cockatoo Articles containing video clips Extant