Monitoring the nests of endangered species of cockatoos has not always been practical using traditional methods. However, new bioacoustic methods being developed at The University of Queensland may hold the key to accurate monitoring of nesting and breeding behaviour. The innovative monitoring method is now being applied to the breeding behaviour of two endangered sub-species of cockatoo in southern Australia, the south-eastern red-tailed black-cockatoo and the Kangaroo Island glossy black-cockatoo. It also promises to shed light on the breeding behaviour of black-cockatoos in Queensland, about which little is so far known. Daniella Teixeira, PhD candidate at The University of Queensland, takes up the story.