White-faced Cockatiel

Scientific Name: Nymphicus hollandicus

Distribution:
   Grey cockatiels are found over most of Australia except the coastal areas and most of Tasmania. The white-faced cockatiels are a color variety that is not found in the wild.

Description:
   The white-faced cockatiel has a white or grayish face as shown above. The They come in different color varieties like gray, pearl, fawn, pied, and albino.   "L.A." looks like a gray or maybe a pied whiteface cockatiel.

Care and feeding:
   A roomy cage is required unless the bird is to be let out for extended periods. Many birds can spend most of their time on a play pen or parrot perch. They eat a variety of seeds, nuts, fruits, and commercial pellets, as well as the same nutritional foods humans eat.

Size - Weight:
   These birds get up to 30 cm (12 inches).

Social Behaviors:
   Cockatiels travel in flocks in the wild. They make a very loving and devoted pet if bonded properly.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   Cockatiels will readily nest provided they have a nest box and some material to construct the nest from. They lay one egg every other day until they have laid about 5 eggs. The incubation period is 17 - 22 days. After hatching the young birds will open their eyes at 9 days of age.
   This is a good time to start hand feeding if you don't want to incubate the eggs yourself. Incubation and raising the chicks yourself requires dedication since the young chicks will need feedings every two hours for the first couple of weeks. Likewise, you can pull them from the nest earlier than 9 days, but with greater risk to the chick and greater effort on your part with frequent feedings. After about 18 days the orange cheek patch will appear on the babies. At about 30 days they will look like adult birds, and will fledge at about 35 days of age.

See About Cockatiels: Breeding/Reproduction for more information.

Sexual differences:
   There are a lot of opinions about how to sex these birds but usually they are just indicators and not sure ways to tell. For White-faced cockatiels, he males will have a whiter head and the females will have more of a grayish head. The females will also have the barred markings underneath their tail feathers while the males will have none.

Potential Problems:
   See About Cockatiels: Problems for more information.

Availability:
   This bird is sometimes available and can come in a lot of different varieties, grey, lutino, pearl, and white-faced varieties. The white-faced cockatiel is generally quite a bit more expensive than the regular grey cockatiel or lutino.

Activities:
   Likes to climb and play, provide toys and plenty of time outside the cage if possible.