Listing of the birds will mean developments likely to trigger a significant impact on the species must be assessed under national laws. That decline was expected to continue because increased heatwaves and fire frequency as a result of the climate emergency were increasing pressure on the species across its range, with bushfires likely to reduce the amount of nesting habitat available to the birds. The bushfires affected 36% of the birds’ range, leading to an estimated further drop in numbers of 21%. The scientific committee wrote in draft advice last year that gang-gang populations had already declined by between 15% and 69% before the fires. The bird is one of several plants and animals that required assessment after the 2019-20 bushfire disaster a number of other species are also expected to be added to the threatened list. They are a common sight in Canberra, where they are often found in back yards in the inner suburbs and in nearby bushland reserves. The adult males are known for their distinctive red facial feathers. Habitat is defined to include "an area periodically or occasionally occupied by a species".Gang-gangs are small, grey cockatoos found throughout south-eastern Australia. Damage is defined to include "damage caused by removing any part of the habitat". This protection status as a threatened species makes it a Tier 1 criminal offence for a person or corporation to knowingly damage the bird's habitat. It is protected as a vulnerable species under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (NSW). As a result, the gang-gang is now listed as vulnerable in New South Wales. Loss of older, hollow trees and loss of feeding habitat across south-eastern Australia through land clearing has led to a significant reduction in the numbers of this cockatoo in recent years. Also, they breed in the canopy of most trees. Unlike most other cockatoos, gang-gangs nest in young, solid trees, the females using their strong beaks to excavate nesting cavities. However they must migrate back to denser forests to breed, as they need tall trees in order to build nests. The birds migrate short distances during winter into more open habitats. The gang-gang prefers forests and woodlands in the mountains with dense shrub understories. They are an introduced species on Kangaroo Island. They used to inhabit King Island off of Tasmania, but they have since gone extinct locally. The gang-gang is endemic to coastal regions of south-eastern Australia. Immature are like females with some red showing on head. Scalloping in the female is yellow orange. Both have scalloping which is faint in the male. Gang-gangs have a wispy recurved crest that is bright red in the male and gray in the female. Considering the robust phylogeny of the cockatoos now established, a comparison of characteristics gained and lost during the evolution of cockatoos suggests that the gang-gang cockatoo-while of course much changed and adapted during the perhaps 20 million years since its last common ancestor with any other living species lived-is probably still very similar in overall appearance to how the earliest cockatoos would have looked, and certainly the most primitive-looking of the species alive today. The Gang-gang cockatoo is a charming small gray cockatoo similar in size to the Rose-breasted cockatoo. New research has finally resolved the matter, with the gang-gang cockatoo being recognized as a distinctive early offshoot of the calyptorhynchine (dark) cockatoos. This has always been controversial due to the unusual appearance and coloration of the bird, especially its sexual dichromatism. The gang-gang cockatoo was most often allied with the white cockatoos of the genus Cacatua. Gang-gangs are very social birds, but not overly noisy. The birds are not easily mistaken for other cockatoos, but while in flight may resemble the Galah. Juvenile males can be distinguished by their brighter crowns and shorter crests, but otherwise look similar to the adult female. The edges of feathers on upperarts are slightly paler grey than the rest of the feather, which makes the bird look somewhat barred. The edges of feathers in underparts have edges of yellow or pink. The head and crest is bright red in males, but dark grey in females. The gang-gang cockatoo is a grey bird with a wispy crest.
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