Cockatoo
Major Mitchell's Cockatoo
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Major Mitchell's Cockatoo has been universally acclaimed as the most beautiful of the cockatoos and among the most beautiful of all parrots. One of the first to write in admiring terms of its beauty was the explorer Sir Thomas Mitchell, after whom it is named.
Major Mitchell's cockatoo, also known as Leadbeater's cockatoo, is generally white with a pink flush. The head and breast are salmon pink with a large erectile crest. The crest feathers are light pink at the base and white tipped, with orange-red and a yellow band in the center. The bare skin around the eye is white, with the iris orange in the female and dark in the male. The beak is light gray, and the legs gray. The average length of this bird is 15-161/2 inches, with a wing span of 32 inches.
DISTRIBUTION and HABITAT:
These birds are found in the arid and semi-arid interior of Australia, except the north eastern region. They inhabit sparsely timbered grasslands, and acacia scrublands.
BEHAVIOR
Major Mitchell's cockatoos are usually seen in pairs or small groups, sometimes in the company of Galahs and Little Corellas. They rarely congregate in large flocks.
They spend most of the day on the ground or among the branches of trees and shrubs feeding on seeds. Normally, they are rather wary and will not allow a close approach. They drink in the early morning and late afternoon, sometimes arriving at the waterhole before sunrise.
Like other cockatoos they have the habit of stripping leaves and bark from trees in which they are roosting.
Their movement seems to be governed by the availability of food and water. These cockatoos rarely fly high and even when traveling long distances prefer to move by a series of low, short flights.
The normal contact call given frequently while in flight is a quavering cry. When alarmed they emit three or four harsh screeches.
DIET:
Major Mitchell's cockatoos feed on the seed of grasses and herbaceous plants, nuts, fruits, berries and roots. They are particularly fond of Callitris and Acacia seeds, which they procure both in the trees and on the ground.
REPRODUCTION and GROWTH:
The nest is in a hollow limb or hole in a tree, preferably near water. The bottom of the hollow is lined with decayed wood dust and with strips of bark removed by the birds from around the entrance. The same nesting hollow is often used in successive seasons by the same pair of birds.
A normal clutch comprises three, white oval shaped eggs. Incubation lasts 30 days and both sexes brood, the male usually sitting during the day and female at night. Both parents care for the young. About six weeks after hatching the young birds leave the nest, but remain with the parents to form the family parties frequently seen.
Because of its beauty, the Major Mitchell's cockatoo has always been in demand as an aviary bird, but does not make a good pet. Even a hand-reared bird rarely becomes affectionate and gentle.
