# Curious about male cockatiel anatomy

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-about-male-cockatiel-anatomy/201509>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 14, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-about-male-cockatiel-anatomy/201509 "2003-09-14T04:34:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-about-male-cockatiel-anatomy/201509/1 "2003-09-14T04:34:47Z")

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Hi, I have always been proud to think that my studly male cockatiel, Monty, had a big winker. I am distraught and befuddled by webpages I have visited that claim that many birds possess no phalli at all, while some possess pseudo-schlongs, and NO bird has a “true penis.” I recently saw a picture of a duck on  
[this site](http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/enviro/EnviroRepublish_366856.htm) with a 42cm dingdong, so it appears that at least ducks are duly endowed. I specifically desire information on cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus) and would rather test the board than the local vet. I would like replies with specific links to reputable sources (books, web, etc.) where I can explore Monty’s anatomy with some measure of veracity.

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**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-about-male-cockatiel-anatomy/201509/2 "2003-09-14T04:37:12Z")

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Are they really teal?

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**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-about-male-cockatiel-anatomy/201509/3 "2003-09-14T11:25:22Z")

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Have you tried using a magnifying glass?

“Wankers” are generally found on waterfowl, particularly those that mate on/in the water. Cockatiels are not waterfowl. Therefore, I would not expect them to have a penis, psuedo or otherwise.

Your little guy might well be a studly cock, but in his species an organ occassionally referred to as a “cock” is not required for a cock to be studly.

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**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-about-male-cockatiel-anatomy/201509/4 "2003-09-14T15:35:13Z")

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Unfortunately, the books I was given when I got my first cockatiel are still at home with the parents who bought them for me years ago. However, I can assure you that your 'tiel does not have a cock, much less a large one. The bird’s only opening down there is the cloaca, which takes care of defecation and procreation, and isn’t a hiding place for a penis on parrots.

Here’s proof: [this lady](http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/anatomy.html) is an avian vet; he ought to count as reputable.

> [@](#):
>
> Most people know that birds only have ONE external opening, called the vent, and the internal chamber, or cloaca, that is used for urination, defecation and reproduction. Inside the cloaca, there are three separate compartments, called the coprodeum, the deepest compartment, and is the terminal end of the rectum. The next cloacal compartment is the urodeum, and this is the middle section that collects urine and urates from the ureters, that drain the kidneys. In the hen, the left oviduct opens into the urodeum. When an egg is travelling through the reproductive tract of the hen, it enters the urodeum before it passes out through the vent. The last compartment, just inside the vent, is the proctodeum. This compartment contains the avian phallus, if one is present. The phallus differs from the mammalian penis in several ways, the major ones being that it is just a copulatory organ and that is does not function to drain urine. **Male ratites (ostrich, emu, rhea), ducks, geese, swans and some domestic fowl and turkey possess a phallus. Male parrots do not.**