• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	A2bcd+4bcd	A2bcd+3bcd+4bcd

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2021	Endangered	A2bcd+4bcd
2018	Endangered	A3cd
2016	Endangered	A3cd
2013	Endangered	A3cd
2012	Vulnerable	A2cd+3cd+4cd
2008	Vulnerable	A2c,d; A3c,d; A4c,d
2007	Vulnerable
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	medium
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	51,700 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	medium	-	1992
Population trend	decreasing	medium	inferred	1972-2022
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	50-79%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	50-79%	-	-	-
Generation length	16.67 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	2-100	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population was formerly estimated to number c.43,000-183,000 individuals (Lambert 1993), however no more recent estimate has been made.

Trend justification: The predominant threat is from unsustainable levels of trapping for the cage-bird trade. CITES data indicate that at its peak in 1991, the legal international cage-bird trade was taking c.17% of the global population annually. Vetter (2009) used remote sensing techniques to track the rate and spatial pattern of forest loss in the North Maluku Endemic Bird Area between 1990 and 2003, and projected rates of deforestation over the next three generations for birds in the region with restricted range. This study estimated the rate of forest loss within the geographic and elevation range of C. alba to be c.20.2% between 1990 and 2003, and projected the loss of c.65.4% of forest in its range over the next three generations. More recent data, however, project more moderate losses of 20-30% of forest over three generations (Global Forest Watch 2021). Loss of forest which the species is dependent on, likely worsens declines due to removal of habitat and increased levels of trapping due to improved access into forest. Significant changes in forest cover on Halmahera appear to have driven a concomitant decline in the cockatoo population (F. Lambert in litt. 2012). Whilst levels of legal trade has decreased it is still widespread and ill-enforced, illegal unrecorded and unregulated trade is highly likely, so the population is inferred to be declining at a rapid rate, and is predicted to become very rapid over the next three generations (50 years).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Indonesia	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Indonesia	Aketajawe
Indonesia	Galela
Indonesia	Gunung Sibela
Indonesia	Halmahera Timur
Indonesia	Tanah Putih

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	resident
Artificial/Terrestrial	Plantations	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 900 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Shifting agriculture	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion, Reduced reproductive success
Energy production & mining	Mining & quarrying	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national
Pets/display animals, horticulture	subsistence, national

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: White Cockatoo Cacatua alba. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/white-cockatoo-cacatua-alba on 22/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/12/2024.