Cockatoos are hardy birds and rarely get sick. Even if they do, it can sometimes be hard to tell as they continue to act normally. But with a little education, early detection, and good care, the chances of recovery are great.
The body of the cockatoo is similar to the body of any mammal. Cockatoos and mammals alike have skin, skeletons, respiratory, digestive, cardiovascular, excretory, and nervous systems, as well as sensory organs. Let’s take a brief look at how these systems work together.
The cockatoo’s skin is difficult to see under all the feathers, but if you part the feathers gently, you will see a thin, almost translucent skin underneath. Birds do not have sweat glands, so they must cool off by keeping their wings slightly open and their beaks open. Make sure you never leave your cockatoo in the hot sun, as they can overheat very quickly and if they suffer from heat stroke they will need veterinary attention.
Birds are the only animals that have feathers. Feathers serve many purposes. They help birds fly, keep them warm, attract the attention of potential mates, and the birds also use their feathers to scare off predators. A cockatoo has between 5,000 and 6,000 feathers on its body. Cockatoos have different types of feathers: contour feathers, down feathers, semi-plume feathers, and flight feathers. Cockatiels keep their feathers in good shape by spending a great deal of time grooming and grooming themselves. If your cockatiel appears to be pecking at the base of its feathers, it is actually stripping the oil from the groomed gland and spreading it all over its feathers.
Birds have bones, but did you know that some bird bones are hollow? This helps make the bird lighter so it can fly. Cockatoos also have air pockets in some of their bones for more buoyancy in flight. Parrots also have ten neck vertebrae compared to seven humans. This allows a parrot to turn its head 180 degrees. This allows cockatoos to detect food or predators in the wild.
The cockatoo has a very efficient respiratory and cardiovascular system. Cockatoos’ digestive systems are very efficient at producing fuel from their food. The body temperature of the cockatoo is higher than that of humans. Their digestion begins with a highly effective spike that breaks down hard seeds like tiny nut crackers. A cockatoo does not have saliva to break down food like we do and most of the digestive juices are found in its culture. Unlike mammals, birds do not have a bladder or urethra.
The cockatoo’s sense of taste is not good and they relish the food on the palate and not on the tongue. Cockatoos have excellent vision and see color. They cannot rotate their eyes, but they have necks that help them to have complete vision. Their sense of hearing is good, but they cannot hear very high or very low tones like humans do. A cockatoo’s sense of smell is not well developed, but they do have a good sense of touch using their beaks and legs for this purpose.
For more information on how the cockatoo is made up, visit: http://cockatielsaspets.com.