Cockatiel or cockatoo?
How to tell them apart
The cockatiel is the smallest cockatoo, 30–33 cm long, and unlike most cockatoos its tail makes up about half its length.
Quick answers
They differ on 2 of the 8 quick answers: carnivore, domesticated.
| Question | Cockatiel | Cockatoo |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | Bird | Bird |
| Carnivore? differs | No, herbivore | Omnivore |
| Dangerous? | No | No |
| Domesticated? differs | Yes | No |
| Awake when? | Daytime | Daytime |
| Hibernates? | No | No |
| Kept as a pet? | Commonly | Commonly |
| Do people eat it? | No | No |
At a glance
| Question | Cockatiel | Cockatoo |
|---|---|---|
| Found in differs | Australia | Australia, Asia, New Guinea |
| Habitat differs | Wetland, Scrub | – |
| Size differs | Small | Medium |
| Length differs | 30–33 cm, about half of it tail | – |
| Legs | 2 | 2 |
| Covered in | Feathers | Feathers |
| Lives | In flocks | In flocks |
| Lives for differs | 15–25 years | 40–70 years |
| Can fly | Yes | Yes |
| Swims | No | No |
| Lays eggs | Yes | Yes |
About each
Cockatiel
The smallest member of the cockatoo family: a grey Australian parrot with a long tail and an expressive crest. Wild birds wander dry inland country in pairs or small flocks, always near water. It is one of the most commonly kept pet birds in the world.
Everything on the cockatiel page
Cockatoo
Twenty-two species of crested parrots from the Philippines and eastern Indonesia to New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Australia. They are mostly white, grey or black, larger than most parrots, and very long-lived.
Everything on the cockatoo page
Sources
Last reviewed . The answers and notes come from each animal's own page, where every source is listed.
How each answer is decided: How we answer. More look-alikes: Side by side.