Cockatoos are very popular as pets, not only for their striking beauty but also for their intelligence and usually affectionate, outgoing, cuddly, and gentle personalities. Despite their high cost which typically ranges from $500-$2000 for the more commonly available species, cockatoos can make a great pet for the right owners.

There are 17 species of cockatoos, most of which are in the genus Cacatua.Most are colored mainly in white, but others come in grays and pinks, blacks, and in the Palm's case, deep blue.

Cockatoos live 40-60 years and up. There have been some reported cases of cockatoos living to be over 100, but most of these are unsubstantiated.

Cockatoos share many features with other parrots including the characteristic curved beak shape and two forward toes and two backwards toes. They differ, however in a number of characteristics, including the often spectacular movable head crest, the presence of a gall bladder and some other anatomical details, and their lack of the Dyck texture feather composition which causes the bright blues and greens seen in true parrots.

They have been called the 'velcro' bird, because it always wants to be by it's companions side. Because they can develop an over dependency, cockatoos can develop behavioral problems when their needs are not met. Therefore, the owner should establish boundaries and rules early on in the relationship to avoid these problems.

Cockatoos are loud. In fact, they are arguably the loudest of the parrots. Cockatoos love screaming and will scream for the sheer joy of screaming, usually in periods once or twice a day (usually morning and evening).

All species of cockatoo are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (also known as CITES), which makes the import, export and trade in all wild-caught parrots and cockatoos illegal.

The following cockatoo species are protected on the CITES appendix 1 list of endangered species.

• Goffin's cockatoo, Cacatua goffini
• Red-vented Cockatoo, Cacatua haematuropygia
• Moluccan Cockatoo, Cacatua moluccensis
• Yellow-crested Cockatoo, Cacatua sulphurea
  • includes the subspecies, Citron-crested Cockatoo, Cacatua sulphurea citrinocristata
• Palm Cockatoo, Probosciger aterrimus

All of the other cockatoo species are protected on the CITES appendix 2 list of vulnerable species. However, some species of Australian cockatoos including corellas and galahs, have large populations and are sometimes killed as crop pests.