Artificial nests help Hong Kong’s rare cockatoos cope with a ‘housing crisis’

In the urban landscape of Hong Kong, artificial nest boxes are providing shelter and research opportunities for one of the world’s most threatened parrot species. The yellow-crested cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea) is critically endangered, with fewer than 2,000 individuals remaining across its native range in eastern Indonesia and Timor-Leste. However, Hong Kong hosts roughly 200 wild cockatoos, a tenth of that number, believed to be descendants of escaped or released pets, reports Mongabay’s Yenni Kwok. Although the city’s cockatoo population remains stable due to strict legal protection and a lack of natural predators, severe storm damage and tree pruning have eliminated more than 60% of natural tree hollows where the footlong birds make their nests. “In the city, they do not have that luxurious choice available,” said Astrid Andersson, a biologist and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Hong Kong, who described the tree hollow shortage as “a housing crisis for these birds.” To tackle the issue, Andersson teamed up with arborist and conservationist Harry Wong to launch HK Cockatoo Watch. Adapting Australian prototypes for Hong Kong’s humid climate, the pair build artificial nest boxes fitted with internal cameras to monitor breeding behavior remotely. “What I am doing is to find a way: How can we coexist with them?” said Wong, who previously spent six to seven years in bee conservation. Since March 2025, the team has installed 15 nest boxes across public parks and school campuses, including St. Louis School and ISF Academy. The project has actively engaged local students…This article was originally published on

Mongabay