These calls have been likened to the drawn out sounds of a cork being removed from a bottle, and a rusty hinge on a gate. Apart from softly growling while eating, Gang-gang Cockatoos communicate in an ‘er-eck‘ or a ‘ gr-raer-iriek!‘ sound.They choose to live in mountains, alpine woodlands and tall wet forests and gullies, preferring heavily timbered and mature wet sclerophyll forests to build their home Gang-gang Cockatoos retreat to higher elevations to breed during the summer. They are especially frequent visitors in Canberra, and as a reward for their loyalty have become the ACT’s animal emblem. They prefer eucalypts, wattles and introduced hawthorns and will also eat berries, fruits, nuts and insects and insect larvae. Gang-gang Cockatoos regularly visit backyards and parks in eastern Australia to feed on native and introduced tree and shrub seeds. Female Gang-gang cockatoos can sometimes be mistaken for Galahs due to their colouring and small size. The females are not as brightly coloured as the males, and have a grey head and body with a barred breast and orange-red underparts. This has given Gang-gangs the nicknames Red-headed Cockatoo and Red-crowned Cockatoo. The dark red of their crest and head stands out against their slate grey bodies. The Gang-gang Cockatoo ( Callocephalon fimbriatum) are small for cockatoos, usually around 33-36 cm long. Male Gang-gang Cockatoos are easily distinguished by their wispy red crest, which looks like a feather duster.

Gang gang cockatoos puns