Cockatoos and parrots are iconic Australian characters, their beauty, chatter and antics liven up the bush. Cockatoos are some of the many Australian animals that depend upon the large hollows provided by trees hundreds of years old, within which to raise their young. As old trees are disappearing from the landscape, so too are these magnificent birds, though as they can live for 40-50 years reproductive failure may not be apparent until it is too late.