Most research on cockatoos Cacatua outside Australia has focused on species that figure significantly in the pet trade. Here, we examine the status of Blue-eyed Cockatoo Cacatua ophthalmica, an extremely poorly known species endemic to the island of New Britain, in three lowland forest types: primary forest, forest that had been commercially logged of selected large trees in the previous eight years, and forest gardens (small-scale mixed agroforests or “homegardens” tended by indigenous people). During fieldwork at two lowland study sites on New Britain between December 1998 and April 1999, groups of C. ophthalmica were recorded in all forest types (maximum group size = 40), but the species was largely absent from non-forested areas. Estimated cockatoo density in selectively logged forest (64 individuals per km2) was similar to that in primary forest but densities in forest gardens at both sites (6 and 28 per km2) were considerably lower than those in primary forest (27 and 73 per km2). Most active nests found were in large trees in primary forest and the paucity of nests in logged forest, and particularly in forest gardens, is cause for concern given ongoing forest alteration on the island. While we predict that the Blue-eyed Cockatoo population on New Britain is declining, the species remains numerous and the current low levels of trapping and the large area of suitable forest remaining on the island indicate that the taxon is currently of “Least Concern”. In a wider context, C. ophthalmica is considerably more common than most of the traded cockatoos, but the tendency for cockatoo densities to be highest in primary forest, intermediate in human-altered forests and lowest in non-forest areas holds for traded and untraded species alike.