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Major Mitchell's Cockatoo - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Recurvirostra
Mungo National Park, south-western New South Wales, Australia, April 2006

Alternative name(s): Pink Cockatoo

Lophochroa leadbeateri

Identification

33–40 cm (13-15¾ in)

  • White and salmon pink plumage
  • Red and yellow crest

Female: has a red iris and broader yellow band in the crest

Distribution

Female
Photo by Ken Doy
SW Queensland, October 2017

Endemic to Australia: found in New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.

Taxonomy

Pink Cockatoo was formerly placed in the genus Cacatua, but all available evidence suggests placement of this species in the monotypic genus Lophocroa (Brown & Toft, 1999).

Subspecies

Juvenile
Photo by Tiger1
Eyre Bird Observatory, Western Australia, June 2009

Two subspecies are recognized[1]:

  • L. l. mollis:
  • L. l. leadbeateri:

Habitat

Mallee woodland near water, eucalypt scrub, sparsely timbered grassland, woodland and mulga scrub.

Behaviour

Locally nomadic.

Diet

Photo by nightparrot
Freshwater Bore, Newhaven Station, Northern Territory, Australia, June 2008

They feed on a wide variety of seeds and fruit, including the seeds of the Paddy Melon (Cucumis myriocarpus) and the fruits of Bloodwood (Corymbia spp.) and Desert Oak (Allocasuarina decaisneana), also on seeds of acacias and chenopods (e.g., saltbush).

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Avibase
  3. BF Member observations
  4. Wikipedia
  5. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Oct 2017)

Recommended Citation

External Links

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