🐾 Land🐦 FlyingCare difficulty: AdvancedLegal complexity: Low
Bare-eyed Cockatoo
Cacatua sanguinea · also called Little Corella, Blood-stained Cockatoo, Short-billed Corella
A predominantly white Australian cockatoo with prominent bluish bare skin around the eyes and a salmon-pink wash on the face. Highly intelligent, playful, and comical, it is among the better talkers of the cockatoos but, like all cockatoos, demands enormous social attention.
Educational only. KinStation content is reviewed by licensed veterinarians but cannot replace an in-person exam. Always consult a licensed veterinarian or board-certified specialist for diagnosis, treatment, or any decision affecting your pet's health.
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Quick facts
| Size | Medium cockatoo, about 36-40 cm long, 400-560 g. |
| Lifespan | 40–60 years |
| Social needs | pair |
| Native region | Australia (and parts of southern New Guinea) |
| Origin | Old World |
| Climate | 🌍 Varied |
| Family | Cacatuidae |
| Genus | Cacatua |
Part of the Cockatoos
Large, intensely social crested parrots of Australasia known for their dramatic crests, loud calls, and strong bonds with their keepers.
Sounds & video
🔊 What does a bare-eyed cockatoo sound like?
Cacatua sanguinea - Little Corella XC459074
James Ray · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Habitat & space requirements
From the minimum an animal needs to be kept humanely, up to the ideal setup. Bigger is almost always better — minimums are floors, not targets.
Life & growth stages
How this animal changes through its life — each stage often has its own care, diet and space needs.
Habitat & enclosure
Provide the largest possible cage, at minimum about 90 x 90 x 120 cm (36 x 36 x 48 in), with heavy-gauge bars, bar spacing around 2-2.5 cm, and very secure, lockable latches, as corellas are notorious escape artists and powerful chewers. An aviary or flight is ideal. Equip the enclosure with thick natural-wood perches, abundant destructible chew toys, and foraging devices, and provide daily out-of-cage time on a sturdy stand.
Native to a wide range of Australian habitats, these adaptable, hardy birds are comfortable at indoor temperatures of about 15-29 C (60-85 F), away from drafts and airborne toxins. They need a quiet 10-12 hour sleep period, regular bathing or misting, and access to natural sunlight or full-spectrum lighting. As prodigious chewers and diggers, they will damage furniture and woodwork if unsupervised.
Substrate
Use plain paper liners (newspaper or butcher paper) on the cage floor for hygiene and easy dropping checks. Skip loose beddings such as corn cob or shavings, which mold and may be chewed and swallowed by this orally fixated species. A smooth liner also lets you spot the foot-and-bill debris from their heavy chewing.
Equipment & setup
Provide a very strong, escape-proof metal cage (these clever cockatoos pick locks) of at least 40 x 30 x 40 inches with secure padlock-style latches. Offer full-spectrum UVB avian lighting on a 10-12 hour photoperiod plus a sleep cage or covered dark area for 10-12 hours of rest; no extra heat is required at room temperature. Include abundant hardwood perches and a sturdy stainless playstand.
Diet
Feed a formulated pellet as the base, supplemented with plentiful fresh vegetables, leafy greens, limited fruit, sprouted seeds, cooked legumes, and whole grains. In the wild, corellas forage heavily on grains, roots, and seeds on the ground, so foraging-style and scatter feeding suits them well. Keep fatty seeds and nuts to treat portions to prevent obesity.
Never feed avocado, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, or salty/sugary foods. Provide fresh water daily and use foraging toys and puzzles to occupy their busy minds and beaks, which also helps reduce boredom-driven behaviors.
Behavior & temperament
Bare-eyed cockatoos are clever, mischievous, energetic, and highly social, often forming intense bonds with their keepers. They are playful clowns that can learn tricks and a fair vocabulary, but they are also loud, with piercing screeches, and they crave near-constant interaction. Cockatoos that do not receive enough attention and enrichment commonly develop screaming, feather-destructive behavior, or self-mutilation.
They need many hours of daily engagement, abundant foraging and chewing enrichment, and structured, positive-reinforcement training. Excessive cuddling can encourage problematic hormonal bonding, so foster independent play and broad socialization. Their intelligence and dexterity mean cage locks and household hazards must be carefully managed. They are best suited to experienced, dedicated keepers.
Health
Cockatoos are particularly prone to feather-destructive behavior and self-mutilation driven by stress or under-stimulation, as well as obesity and fatty liver disease on rich diets. They are susceptible to psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD), proventricular dilatation disease (PDD), and respiratory disease; quarantine and screen new birds and keep the air free of PTFE (Teflon) fumes, smoke, and aerosols. Cockatoo feather dust can also aggravate respiratory issues for birds and people, so good ventilation or air filtration helps.
Prevention centers on a balanced diet, abundant enrichment and social interaction, and clean air. Provide annual avian-vet wellness exams with baseline labs and address behavioral feather damage early with a vet's guidance. Report any change in weight, droppings, appetite, or feather condition promptly. (Health information is educational only and not a substitute for veterinary care.)
Tips, DIY & hacks
Bare-eyed (little corellas) are escape artists and chronic chewers, so use chain-quick-links or padlocks on doors and supply a constant stream of cheap destructible toys like pine blocks, palm leaf, and cardboard. They are loud and need lots of out-of-cage social time; rotating foraging toys and trick-training sessions curb screaming and feather-destructive behavior. Bathe frequently with a spray bottle to manage cockatoo powder dander.
Sources
- Little corella - Wikipedia (wiki)
- Cockatoos - VCA Animal Hospitals (care guide)
- Wikipedia: Bare-eyed Cockatoo (wiki)