Distribution and Status
Red-vented Cockatoos were formerly widely distributed on all larger and many smaller islands of the Philippines, excluding northern and central Luzon. In the early 1990s the total wild population was estimated at 1000-4000, however, by 2008 this was reduced to probably less than 1000. Now remnant populations exist on the islands of Palawan, Tawitawi, Mindanao and Masbate. The species stronghold is the Palawan Faunal Region where the Katala Foundation has been running the Philippine Cockatoo Conservation Programme since 1998. There are around 180 found in wilderness conservation in the municipality of Narra and Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.
A captive population is bred by Antonio de Dios's Birds International near Manila.
This bird is critically endangered. Populations have decreased dramatically due to illegal trapping for the cage-bird trade. The high price fetched per bird (c.US$160 in Manila in 1997) means that chicks are taken from virtually every accessible nest. Other contributing factors are loss of coastal habitat and persecution as an agricultural pest.
Read more about this topic: Red-vented Cockatoo
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