The fact that a cockatoo reached Sicily during the 13th Century shows that merchants plying their trade to the north of Australia were part of a flourishing network that reached west to the Middle East and beyond,"
North of Australia is a big place, the article mentions that the specie may have originated in Indonesia.
It also possible that the birds may have been bread in captivity for a while before one of them ended up in a book.
With this in mind , I find the quote curiously free of content.
They still managed to get a species of bird (possibly over several generations) from Indonesia or Northern Australia all the way to Europe, 50 years before Marco Polo visited Indonesia.
North of Australia is a big place, the article mentions that the specie may have originated in Indonesia.
It also possible that the birds may have been bread in captivity for a while before one of them ended up in a book.
With this in mind , I find the quote curiously free of content.