Salmon-crested Cockatoo (Webkinz by Ganz)

Review and images by Birdsage; edited by bmathison1972

The Salmon-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis), also known as the Moluccan Cockatoo, is a species of parrot that is endemic to Seram and several other islands in Indonesia’s Maluku Archipelago. The species resides in lowland rainforests up to an altitude of 1,000 m (3,300 ft). The Salmon-crested Cockatoo is considered by many to be the loudest species of parrot, but this has not been scientifically confirmed. The bird’s diet is largely but not entirely herbivorous, consisting of fruits, nuts, and seeds, plus some insects. Threatened by deforestation and capture for the pet trade, the Salmon-crested Cockatoo is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN and as an Appendix I Species by CITES. On eBird, it is listed as “Sensitive” in its native range; thus, the specific locations of observations are hidden from the public to keep the birds safe.

This plush toy was made by Ganz under its Webkinz line. These toys are best known for their included tags. Each tag contains a unique alphanumeric code that can be redeemed online for a virtual version of the “pet” it came with. Besides the standard Webkinz series, there were also the Lil’ Kinz series, which featured plush toys of a smaller size, and the higher-quality Signature series. The original line was discontinued in 2019. In 2021, the first new Webkinz plush toys, which are based on the “big eyes and big heads” style in the vein of the Ty Beanie Boos, were released for a separate game, Webkinz Next.

This particular plush toy was released in 2010 and discontinued in 2014. It was marketed as “Pink Cockatoo”, a name commonly used for Lophochroa leadbeateri, otherwise known as the Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo. However, the dark gray bill and overall pink crest feathers make it look closer to Salmon-crested Cockatoo.

I have named mine Lillian after one of the authors of the Stokes Field Guide to the Birds. She is small-headed and full-bodied overall. The general color of her plumage is a very light pink with white wings, which I suppose is accurate. She has a rather plump abdomen. If she were a real bird, she would be considered very overweight; cockatoos are naturally slim-bodied parrots. Lillian has no visible legs. Her toes are tridactyl, with three toes that all face forward. The real bird has zygodactyl toes; two toes pointing forward and two toes pointing backward for a total of four.

She unfortunately lacks the yellowish underwings of the real animal. Her tail is the appropriate size proportionally, but it is incorrectly colored pink when it should be white.

Lillian’s head is a little too small proportionally. Salmon-crested Cockatoos are a notably large-headed species. Her eyes are dark and relatively small, as they should be, and they are placed correctly on the head, but the light blue orbital rings present around the eyes of the actual bird are not depicted. Her bill is colored and shaped fairly accurately. The bright pink crest is usually kept hidden in the real animal, and the color should not be this extensive.

The Webkinz logo (the “Magic W”) is present on all Webkinz plush toys; here, it is emblazoned on the underside of Lillian‘s wing. Lillian is about 29.5 cm (≈11.6”) not including her crest. The average size of the Salmon-crested Cockatoo is about 49 cm (≈19.3”), so she has a scale of roughly 1:1.66.

The accuracy of the Webkinz Cockatoo is mixed, and Lillian is by no means a Webkinz Signature, but there are only two other toy representations of the Salmon-crested Cockatoo that I know of. One is an accurate and high-quality, but fairly rare, K&M Cuddlekin, and the other is a fairly common Beanie Baby, which is of worse craftsmanship than the others but at least has more accurate proportions than the Webkinz one and a correctly colored tail. The Webkinz Cockatoo was only in production for 4 years, but this plush toy is fairly common on eBay…for now, at least.