The Cacatuidae (cockatoo) is one of three superfamilies of the order Psittaciformes (parrots). There are 44 birds in the cockatoo family – some will have their own individual posts in Bird Month – which are found in the Australasian area of the world.
11 of the 21 species exist only in Australia where you’ll often see them in large flocks, searching for food on the ground.
Unlike other parrot species, cockatoos generally only have a small splash of colour in their otherwise white, black or grey plumage; although, there are some exceptions like the galah and Major Mitchell’s cockatoo.
Cockatoos are considered poor at learning and mimicking human speech, but we beg to differ – on a school camp we came across a cockatoo with quite a colourful vocabulary.
Some cockatoo species can be kept as pets however they’re quite high maintenance, requiring plenty of attention and items to keep them occupied during the day. Watching funny cockatoo videos on YouTube and having yourself a cockatoo tattoo are just about the next best thing to the real thing.
We’ve selected the top 15 cockatoo (excluding a few species) tattoos to inspire your own tattoo of one of the 44 birds from the 11 species of cockatoos.
Illustrative neo trad cockatoo tattoo by @imchrisgreen
Neo trad cockatoo tattoo by @gabrielagtattoo
Colour realism cockatoo tattoo by @lizvenom
Neo trad cockatoo tattoo by @nicole_draeger
Neo trad cockatoo tattoo by @millhaustattoo
Colourful illustrative cockatoo tattoo by @kshocs
Mixed style (traditional and neo trad) cockatoo tattoo by @racedylan
Colour realism cockatoo tattoo by @frederickbain_tattoo
Neo trad watercolour cockatoo tattoo by @laurenfoxtattoo