Cockatiel
Nymphicus hollandicus (Kerr, 1792)
The cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus) is a small bird in the parrot subgroup, belonging to the family Cacatuidae in the order Psittaciformes. It is a granivore and herbivore with a terrestrial lifestyle in grassland, and it is partially migratory.
Quick facts about the cockatiel
Adults weigh 94.6 g, with reported values from 86 to 97.1 g, and its lifespan is 30 years, with values up to 36 years. Checklists record it in Australia, its range covers 6,462,000 km², and the IUCN lists it as Least Concern, not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 86 g – 97.1 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 30 years – 36 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Granivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 20.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.5 – 4.6src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 13 months – 3 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
Photos of the cockatiel
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the cockatiel live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The cockatiel is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the cockatiel?
The cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus), also known as the weero/weiro or quarrion, is a species of small- to medium-sized parrot belonging to the cockatoo family (Cacatuidae), of which it is the smallest member. Native to Australia, it is the sole member of the genus Nymphicus.
Cockatiels are widely recognized for their bright orange cheek patches, long tail feathers, and sociable, playful nature. Their strong affinity for human interaction has placed them among the most commonly kept companion parrots worldwide, being kept in an estimated 4.8 million US households as one of the top five most popular pet bird species. However, insufficient knowledge of their care contributes to one of the highest surrender rates among pet bird species.
Proper care requires regular social interaction with owners, as well as a suitable nutritionally appropriate diet, toy-based enrichment, annual veterinary check-ups and prompt attention when signs of illness or respiratory issues appear, perches of varying diameters, UV exposure, and about two hours of daily out-of-cage time. Due to many owners' unfamiliarity with these requirements, many cockatiels suffer chronic malnutrition and behavioral problems and are often relinquished to shelters within approximately 1.5 years of adoption.
The cockatiel is the only member of the genus Nymphicus. It was previously unclear whether the cockatiel is a crested parakeet or small cockatoo; however, more recent molecular studies have assigned it to its own subfamily, Nymphicinae. It is, therefore, now classified as the smallest subfamily of the Cacatuidae (cockatoo family). Cockatiels are native to Australia, favouring the Australian wetlands, scrublands, and bushlands. There are many different mutations of this bird.
From the Wikipedia article “Cockatiel” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cockatiel&oldid=1382250668), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the cockatiel endangered?
The cockatiel is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the cockatiel classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPsittaciformes
- familyCacatuidae
- genusNymphicus
- SpeciesNymphicus hollandicus (Kerr, 1792)
Synonyms Leptolophus auricomis, Leptolophus auricomis intermedius, Leptolophus auricomis pallescens, Leptolophus auricornis obscurus, Leptolophus hollandicus, Psittacus hollandicus, Psittacus novaehollandiae
Other names and names in other languages (58)
- كوكاتيلArabic
- الكوكاتيلArabic
- كالوبسيتArabic
- ببغاء الكروانArabic
- ninfaAsturian
- Sultan tutuquşusuAzerbaijani
- Карэла-німфаBelarusian
- КорелаBulgarian
- ককাটিয়েল বা ককটেলBangla
- cacatua nimfaCatalan
- korela chocholatáCzech
- cocatïlWelsh
- NymfeparakitDanish
- NymphensittichGerman
- Papağana SultaniZaza
- ΚοκατίλGreek
- nimfa kakatuoEsperanto
- Cacatúa ninfaSpanish
- Cacatúa australiana ninfaSpanish
- nümfkakaduuEstonian
- عروس هلندیPersian
- neitokakaduFinnish
- CalopsitteFrench
- Calopsitte éléganteFrench
- Perruche CalopsitteFrench
- Perruche nymphiqueFrench
- נימפית מצויצתHebrew
- nimfapapagájHungarian
- CalopsittaItalian
- Cacatua ninfaItalian
- オカメインコJapanese
- 왕관앵무Korean
- nimfinė papūgėlėLithuanian
- НимфаMacedonian
- nymfeparakittNorwegian Bokmål
- ValkparkietDutch
- nymfekakaduNorwegian
- Prikichi FalcónPapiamento
- Prikichi KinikiniPapiamento
- nimfaPolish
- caturraPortuguese
- CalopsitaPortuguese
- Calopsita-selvagemPortuguese
- cocatielPortuguese
- Perruchercf
- Papagal nimfăRomanian
- КореллаRussian
- KorelaSlovak
- korela chochlatáSlovak
- Nimfa papagaj (divlji)Serbian
- nymfkakaduaSwedish
- nymfparakitSwedish
- นกคอกคาทีลThai
- นกคอกคาเทลThai
- Sultan PapağanıTurkish
- 玄鳳鸚鵡Chinese
- 雞尾鸚鵡Chinese
- 鸡尾鹦鹉Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the cockatiel
Other species in the same family Cacatuidae.
Sulphur-crested cockatoo
Cacatua galerita
Palm cockatoo
Probosciger aterrimus
Galah
Eolophus roseicapilla
White cockatoo
Cacatua alba
Moluccan cockatoo
Cacatua moluccensis
Yellow-crested cockatoo
Cacatua sulphurea
CompareCockatiel vs Sulphur-crested cockatooCockatiel vs Palm cockatooCockatiel vs GalahCockatiel vs White cockatoo
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the cockatiel?
The cockatiel is a bird in the parrot subgroup, belonging to the family Cacatuidae and the order Psittaciformes.
How heavy is a cockatiel?
An adult Cockatiel weighs 94.6 g, with reported values from 86 to 97.1 g, which places it in the small size class.
What does the cockatiel eat?
The cockatiel is a granivore, and its trophic level is herbivore.
Which countries is the cockatiel recorded in?
Checklists record the cockatiel in Australia. Its habitat is grassland and its range covers 6,462,000 km².
How long does a cockatiel live?
The cockatiel's lifespan is 30 years, with values up to 36 years reported.
How many eggs does a cockatiel lay?
The cockatiel has a clutch size of 4.5 eggs, up to 4.6, with 1 clutch per year and an incubation period of 20.5 days.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cockatiel
“Cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cockatiel.
@misc{cockatiel_2026,
title = {Cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cockatiel},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}