Leadbeaters Cockatoo

Distribution

Found across the arid and semi-arid inland, from south-western Queensland south to north-west Victoria, through most of South Australia, north into the south-west Northern Territory and across to the west coast between Shark Bay and about Jurien.

Diet

Major Mitchell Cockatoos are omnivores, eating fruits, nuts, roots, plant seeds and bulbs, but also insects. These birds are weak fliers so will fly for short distances before stopping to rest. They will often be found feeding on the ground. They will use their claws for both holding onto their food and for climbing.

Information

With its soft-textured white and salmon-pink plumage and large, bright red and yellow crest, it is often described as the most beautiful of all cockatoos. It is named in honour of Major Sir Thomas Mitchell, who wrote, "Few birds more enliven the monotonous hues of the Australian forest than this beautiful species whose pink-coloured wings and flowing crest might have embellished the air of a more voluptuous region." Major Mitchell's cockatoo females and males are almost identical. The males are usually bigger. The female has a broader yellow stripe on the crest and develop a red eye when mature.

Leadbeaters Cockatoo

Other birds