Leadbeater's or Major Mitchell's Cockatoos aka Pink Cockatoo
Cockatoos as Pets ... Talking Ability (compared to other species)
Cockatoo Diseases ... Sexing Cockatoos
Cockatoo Library ... The Taxonomy Of Cockatoos
Overview
Kindly provided by Dr. Rob Marshall - http://www.birdhealth.com.au)The Major Mitchell is a stocky, medium sized pink cockatoo with distinct yellow and red bands in the crest.
This cockatoo species inhabits the sparsely timbered grasslands of central and Western Australia and generally moves in a nomadic fashion to sites with water and more favourable conditions.
Major Mitchells are usually seen in pairs, often in the company of galahs. Major Mitchells form strong pair bonds and require an owner who is willing to provide meaningful interaction and socialisation. Birds deprived of this activity become susceptible to behavioural problems.
Description
| Chart provided by Dr. Rob Marshall - http://www.birdhealth.com.au) |
| Major Mitchell's Cockatoo Cacatua leadbeateri |
| Size: Up to 40cm in length |
| Pet Status: Moderate |
| Talking Ability: Good |
| Noise Level: High |
| Lifespan: Up to 80 years |
| Breeding Ability: Good |
| Courtship Display: Male struts with bobbing motion and crest raised along branch to female. Mutual touching, preening and mating then follow. |
| Number of Eggs: 2-3 eggs |
| Incubation: 26-30 days |
| Compatibility with other species: Moderate |
| Feeding: Seed and Fruit eaters |
| Health Programmes: Follow the Parrot Health Programme. |
| Sexing: Iris dark brown in males, reddish pink in females. Surgical or DNA sexing required. |
An unmistakable cockatoo of the dry inland, the Pink Cockatoo is the only Australian cockatoo that is salmon-pink below and white above. It is smaller than the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo C. galerita, but slightly larger than a Galah C. roseicapilla. Its most prominent feature is its large white-tipped crest that is banded in red and gold. With its soft-textured white and salmon-pink plumage and large, bright red and yellow crest, it is generally recognised as the most beautiful of all cockatoos. It is named in honor 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". ts call is a distinctive stammering whinny.
Distribution & Habitat
Major Mitchell's Cockatoo (Cacatua leadbeateri), also known as Leadbeater's Cockatoo or Pink Cockatoo, is the only species of its own subgenus Lophocroa. It is a medium-sized cockatoo restricted to arid and semi-arid inland areas of Australia.
Unlike the Galah, Major Mitchell's Cockatoo has declined rather than increased as a result of man-made changes to the arid interior of Australia. Where Galahs readily occupy cleared and part-cleared land, Major Mitchell's Cockatoo requires extensive woodlands, particularly favouring Callitris, Allocasuarina and Eucalyptus. In contrast to other cockatoos,
Major Mitchell pairs will not nest close to one another; in consequence, they cannot tolerate fragmented, partly-cleared habitats, and their range is contracting. (Source: Wikipedia.org)
Location and habitat
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. In NSW it is found regularly as far east as about Bourke and Griffith, and sporadically further east than that.
Habitat and ecology
- Inhabits a wide range of treed and treeless inland habitats, always within easy reach of water.
- Feeds mostly on the ground, especially on the seeds of native and exotic melons and on the seeds of species of saltbush, wattles and cypress pines.
- Normally found in pairs or small groups, though flocks of hundreds may be found where food is abundant.
- Nesting, in tree hollows, occurs throughout the second half of the year; nests are at least 1 km apart, with no more than one pair every 30 square kilometres.
Threats
- Clearing of woodlands.
- Heavy grazing of feeding areas resulting in the removal of seeding grasses and preventing regeneration of food plants.
- Loss of existing and future hollow-bearing trees.
- Illegal nest-robbing and trapping.
What needs to be done to recover this species?
- Manage grazing in feeding areas to prevent loss of food resources.
- Fence areas of habitat, exclude stock and control rabbits to assist regeneration of trees, shrubs and native grasses.
- Protect existing and future hollow-bearing trees for nest sites.
- Monitor known nesting sites to deter poachers.
Copyright Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW)
Genus: English: White Black-billed Cockatoos ... Dutch: Wit & Zwartsnavelkakatoes ... German: Eigentliche Kakadus ... French: Cacatoès 
Species: Scientific: Cacatua leadbeateri leadbeateri aka Plyctolophus leadbeateri ... English: Major Mitchell's Cockatoos ... Dutch: Inka Kakatoe ... German: Inkakakadu ...French: Cacatoès commandant Mitchell Sub-Species: mollis, leadbeateri CITES II - Endangered Species Distribution: Mid-western Australia
Related Web Resources: Lexicon of Parrots ... Major Mitchell Cockatoos: Cockatoos of Australia
Sub-species:
Mathew's Cockatoos: Genus: English: White Black-billed Cockatoos ... Dutch: Wit & Zwartsnavelkakatoes ... German: Eigentliche Kakadus ... French: Cacatoès
Species: Scientific: Cacatua galerita fitzroyi ... English: Fitzroys Cockatoos, Mathew's Cockatoos ... Dutch: Fitzroy Kakatoe ... German: Mathews Gelbhaubenkakadu, Fitzroy's Kakadu ... French: Cacatoès à huppe jaune de Fitzroy's CITES II - Endangered Species Distribution:Northern and Western Australia, Gulf of Carpentaria Related Web Resources: Lexicon of Parrots (No. 2)
Mathew's Pink Cockatoos: Genus: English: White Black-billed Cockatoos ... Dutch: Wit & Zwartsnavelkakatoes ... German: Eigentliche Kakadus ... French: Cacatoès
Species: Scientific: Cacatua leadbeateri mollis ... English: Little Major Mitchell's Cockatoos, Mathews' Pink Cockatoos ... Dutch: Kleine Inka Kakatoe ... German: Mathews Inkakakadu, Kleiner Inkakakadu ...French: Cacatoès à huppe rouge de Leadbeater CITES II - Endangered Species Distribution: Western Australia
If you would like to add to or correct any of the above information, or would like to share with web visitors your own experiences, please e-mail the webmaster.
Photo contributions are welcome!
