A bird of open Australian country, recognized by its crest, long pointed tail and orange cheek patches.
Wild birds are mainly grey with white wing patches. Changing the angle of the crest helps communicate their state.
In the Western Australian wheatbelt, cockatiels repeatedly travelled to the tree hollows where they nested. At Burakin, breeding was inferred in every year from 1977 to 1981, and 14 nests were found in 1979 and 1980. Nests were in Salmon Gum or Gimlet trees, 3–10 m above the ground. Seven clutches had a mean of 3.4 eggs.
The observed parents left near sunrise, sometimes with other pairs, and returned four or five times during the next four hours to feed their chicks. Nest activity was low around midday, then feeding resumed in the afternoon. Cockatiel numbers increased as drought began; the birds began leaving when rainfall improved in 1981, and none were observed in 1982 or 1983. These were local observations at one study area.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species · Least Concern (LC) · Global
The IUCN global assessment published in 2018 classified the cockatiel as Least Concern (LC) and recorded a stable population trend. The justification cites its extremely large range and stable trend as reasons it does not approach the thresholds for a threatened category. The number of mature individuals was not quantified.