Baudin's black cockatoo  (Calyptorhynchus baudinii)

Up to a quarter of this species' habitat has been cleared for agriculture, causing considerable historical population declines. Logging of marri, first for woodchips and now for use in flooring and furniture, has dramatically reduced the availability of food and nesting trees. Additionally, many nest hollows have been found to be occupied by feral bees, which not only limit the bird's nest availability, but are also known to have caused the loss of chicks and killed a brooding female. Competition for nests from maned geese (Chenonetta jubatta) and Australian shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides) may also be a factor as duck numbers increase in the south-west (9) (12).

Although the bird has been protected since 1996, shooting by orchard farmers still occurs (9) (10). ‘Damage licenses' (shoot to scare only) can be issued allowing crop owners to “protect orchard crops” if it can be demonstrated that these cockatoos are causing damage (11) (13). Over past decades, farmers protecting their crops have probably culled thousands of these birds, and continue to do so at a reduced rate, with devastating consequences (13).

Baudin's black cockatoo is listed under Appendix II of CITES, limiting international trade in the species (3), and it is illegal to take these birds from the wild, with a penalty of up to a maximum of $10,000 for such an offence (12) (13). This cockatoo is given special protection under Western Australia's Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 (4) and has been protected under Australian law since 1996 (9). Forest management has now changed so that woodchipping practices ceased in 2003 (9) (10). However, the bird still clings to a precarious existence, and further conservation measures are desperately required to safeguard its future, including: making all shooting by commercial orchard farmers illegal; developing non-lethal methods of damage control; developing and implementing a feral bee control strategy; and protecting mature marri trees, relied upon so heavily as nest and food sources by this rare endemic bird (9). A Recovery Plan is also being prepared to help conserve this species (12).