Leadbeater’s or Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo

Cacatua leadbeateri

The Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo is restricted to arid and semi-arid inland areas of Australia.

Like the Galah, this species has not lost the ability to deposit diluted carotene dyes in its body plumage, although it does not produce melanin coloration anymore, resulting in a lighter bird overall compared to the Galah.

This bird 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.

The above picture was taken in a park near Melbourne, Australia, in January 2003.

Genus Cacatua
Subfamily Cacatuinae
Family Cacatuidae
Order Psittaciformes
Class Aves
Subphylum Vertebrata
Phylum Chordata
Kingdom Animalia
Life on Earth
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