Michael Dawes
Australian wildlife 0059
Major Mitchell's or Pink Cockatoo
(Cacatua leadbeateri)
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Description
This is possibly the most beautiful of all cockatoos. There is nothing more stirring than seeing these birds in their natural habitat. Radiant in the setting sun, they are a sublime mixture of subtle salmon pink, with bleached white wings and crowns and brilliant scarlets and yellows on the crest. Unfortunately, the call is nowhere near as attractive, being described as an unmistakable stuttered, quavering, falsetto cry (Pizzey and Knight, 1997). These cockatoos are often found in pairs or family flocks, but have been seen in flocks of up to several hundred individuals, where food is abundant. Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos usually roost in family flocks, but can also be seen in mixed flocks with Galahs and even Corellas.
A pair of Major Mitchell's Cockatoos.
Description, Range and Habits
Pink Cockatoos are birds of the semi-arid and arid zones of all parts of Australia, except Tasmania. Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos feed on seeds, fruits, nuts and tubers from a variety of native plants, especially Acacia (wattle) and Callitris species (Crome and Shields, 1992). As a result, this bird is often seen feeding in small groups, in dense bushes and trees. The author has observed up to 15 individuals all sitting in a 2 m high bush, and feeding raucously, for over an hour. Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos are most often seen high up in the branches of Salmon Gums (Eucalyptus salmonophloia) and similar large eucalypts, in heavily timbered creeklines or roadside verges, in parts of the wheatbelt of Western Australia. It is these large, hollow eucalypts which the Pink Cockatoo requires, to breed in. During April-December (depending on the state or territory of Australia), up to 4 eggs are laid high up in the hollows of these trees, away from predators.
Conservation Status and Threats
The WA race of the Pink Cockatoo (C. leadbeateri mollis) is scarce throughout most of WA, and is listed as Schedule 4 under the Wildlife Conservation Act (1950), referring to fauna that is in need of special protection. The primary causes for its decline are land clearance for agriculture, and subsequent fragmentation of remaining habitat. Many of the large, old eucalypts which the Pink Cockatoo needs to breed in, have been cut down and cleared. The small remnants of land that remain are not suitable as breeding is density dependent, meaning that there is not enough space in most remnants, to host more than one pair of Pink Cockatoos, if any (Garnett (Ed.), 1993). This species also does not like flying across large, cleared areas of land, and is hence confined to large blocks of remnant bush or undisturbed areas outside the agricultural zone. The Pink Cockatoo has also been threatened by the avicultural trade (ie. nest egg poachers) and doubtlessly by feral cats. Competition with Galahs for nest hollows is also a possible factor in the Pink Cockatoo’s demise.
Australian wildlife 0059
Major Mitchell's or Pink Cockatoo
(Cacatua leadbeateri)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
.
Description
This is possibly the most beautiful of all cockatoos. There is nothing more stirring than seeing these birds in their natural habitat. Radiant in the setting sun, they are a sublime mixture of subtle salmon pink, with bleached white wings and crowns and brilliant scarlets and yellows on the crest. Unfortunately, the call is nowhere near as attractive, being described as an unmistakable stuttered, quavering, falsetto cry (Pizzey and Knight, 1997). These cockatoos are often found in pairs or family flocks, but have been seen in flocks of up to several hundred individuals, where food is abundant. Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos usually roost in family flocks, but can also be seen in mixed flocks with Galahs and even Corellas.
A pair of Major Mitchell's Cockatoos.
Description, Range and Habits
Pink Cockatoos are birds of the semi-arid and arid zones of all parts of Australia, except Tasmania. Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos feed on seeds, fruits, nuts and tubers from a variety of native plants, especially Acacia (wattle) and Callitris species (Crome and Shields, 1992). As a result, this bird is often seen feeding in small groups, in dense bushes and trees. The author has observed up to 15 individuals all sitting in a 2 m high bush, and feeding raucously, for over an hour. Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos are most often seen high up in the branches of Salmon Gums (Eucalyptus salmonophloia) and similar large eucalypts, in heavily timbered creeklines or roadside verges, in parts of the wheatbelt of Western Australia. It is these large, hollow eucalypts which the Pink Cockatoo requires, to breed in. During April-December (depending on the state or territory of Australia), up to 4 eggs are laid high up in the hollows of these trees, away from predators.
Conservation Status and Threats
The WA race of the Pink Cockatoo (C. leadbeateri mollis) is scarce throughout most of WA, and is listed as Schedule 4 under the Wildlife Conservation Act (1950), referring to fauna that is in need of special protection. The primary causes for its decline are land clearance for agriculture, and subsequent fragmentation of remaining habitat. Many of the large, old eucalypts which the Pink Cockatoo needs to breed in, have been cut down and cleared. The small remnants of land that remain are not suitable as breeding is density dependent, meaning that there is not enough space in most remnants, to host more than one pair of Pink Cockatoos, if any (Garnett (Ed.), 1993). This species also does not like flying across large, cleared areas of land, and is hence confined to large blocks of remnant bush or undisturbed areas outside the agricultural zone. The Pink Cockatoo has also been threatened by the avicultural trade (ie. nest egg poachers) and doubtlessly by feral cats. Competition with Galahs for nest hollows is also a possible factor in the Pink Cockatoo’s demise.