Geographic Range
Cacatua leadbeateri
is endemic to Australia and inhabits interior central and southwest areas. The subspecies
C. l. leadbeateri
can be found in eastern Australia, whereas the subspecies
C. l. mollis
is found in central and western Australia.
- Biogeographic Regions
- australian
Habitat
Cacatua leadbeateri
lives in arid to semiarid regions with nearby water sources. These birds inhabit
scrublands, wooded grasslands, and savannas but rely on forested areas for nesting
habitat. They require tall, hollow trees to nest in. They prefer areas with
Callitris
,
Allocasuarina
, and
Eucalyptus
plants for foraging and will roam nomadically to find adequate food resources.
Cacatua leadbeateri
inhabits inland Australia, but is never far from a water source.
- Habitat Regions
- temperate
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- savanna or grassland
- forest
- scrub forest
Physical Description
Cacatua leadbeateri is a small to medium size bird weighing 300 to 450 grams. They range from 35 to 40 centimeters long with a wing span of roughly 81 centimeters. Cacatua leadbeateri is a distinctively colored species, and is often referred to as the "pink cockatoos". These birds have a white back, tail, and wings. Its breast, head, and stomach can vary in color from pale salmon to robust pink. The underside of the wings and base of the tail is similar in color to their breast and stomach, but often richer and deeper in color. Just before the crest is a white patch of plumage with a red frontal band above the bill. Cacatua leadbeateri is most known for its prominent crest. The crest is banded red-yellow-red with white tips. The crest’s bands can help to distinguish the two subspecies. Subspecies C. l. leadbeateri has a more prominent yellow band while subspecies C. l. mollis has little to no yellow in the crest. Their feet are gray. Cacatua leadbeateri has a very strong bill which is off-white or pale beige in color and decurved at the very tip. Its eyes range from dark brown in males to a lighter reddish brown in females.
Females are very similar to males in plumage, except that their plumage is duller
with a white upper belly. Their crest may have a slightly larger yellow band than
males. The females are also slightly smaller. Juveniles resemble females but with
even paler plumage, light brown eyes, and duller frontal band.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- sexes alike
- male larger
- male more colorful
Reproduction
Cacatua leadbeateri
is a monogamous species and forms life-long pair bonds. Courtship consists of visual
displays where the male struts while bobbing his head, swaying, and lifting his wings
for the female. The female raises her crest and bows in response, and the two softly
chatter to each other. If the female accepts him they proceed to allopreen and occasionally
feed each other.
- Mating System
- monogamous
The breeding season for
Cacatua leadbeateri
typically begins in August and lasts through December, but some northern populations
can begin breeding as early as May.
Cacatua leadbeateri
is a cavity nesting species, and selects a hollow 3 to 20 m above ground, preferably
in a eucalyptus tree near water. This species is unable to excavate new cavities and
relies on natural hollows or those constructed by other species. Both male and female
construct the nest by gathering bits of wood and pebbles. The same nest is often
used year after year. Pairs are very territorial and must nest at least one kilometer
from other breeding pairs. Two to five eggs are laid at an interval of one every
2 to 3 days. Incubation lasts 23 to 30 days and the young remain in the nest for
six to eight weeks before they fledge. Parents, mostly the male, continue to feed
fledgelings for 8 additional weeks. Juveniles join their parents to form small, family
groups that remain together for some time after the young reach independence. Juveniles
reach sexual maturity at 3 to 4 years of age.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- fertilization
- oviparous
Cacatua leadbeateri
is very territorial during the breeding season, and likely expends significant energy
defending its large territory of 30 square kilometers. Both the male and female participate
in gathering nesting materials. After eggs are laid, both parents take turns incubating
the clutch, with the male generally brooding during the day and the female at night.
Chicks are born altricial, without feathers and with eyes closed, and require significant
parental care. Parents tend to the chicks while in the nest for six to eight weeks
until they fledge. They will continue to be fed by the parents, primarily by the
male, for another 8 weeks when they reach independence. Juveniles often remain with
the parents to form family groups.
- Parental Investment
- altricial
- male parental care
- female parental care
-
pre-fertilization
- provisioning
-
protecting
- female
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- male
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- male
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-independence
-
provisioning
- male
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
- post-independence association with parents
Lifespan/Longevity
Cacatua leadbeateri
is a long-lived species. They live to be 50 to 60 years old in the wild. The oldest
known bird of this species is an individual named "Cookie" who lives at the Brookfield
Zoo and as of June 2010 was 77 years old.
Behavior
Breeding pairs are very territorial, and will not nest closer than 1 km to another
nesting pair. During the non-breeding season pairs often interact with many other
pairs creating flocks of 10 to 50 birds. They can often be seen with other cockatoo
species including galahs (
Cacatua roseicapilla
) and little corellas (
Cacatua sanguinea
).
Cacatua leadbeateri
is a diurnal species. During the day these birds can be found on the ground or in
trees often foraging for seeds. They are weak fliers, and are characterized by slow,
labored, low altitude flight. This species will often fly short distances and rest
before taking flight again. They are mainly a sedentary species, and will perform
local migrations in search of food resources.
Home Range
Nesting Cacatua leadbeateri defends a territory of 30 square km.
Communication and Perception
Cacatua leadbeateri
has a characteristic “creek-ery-cree” call that can be heard at incredible distances.
As in most cockatoos, the frequency of the call acts as a mood indicator with more
frequent call characterizing stress. It uses a soft contact call, with a frequency
of one call per minute, when foraging and even softer calls when it is about to feed
its young. Their crest is also used to visually attract a mate, ward off opposing
males, and communicate alarm or distress to nearby birds. As part of the mating rituals,
males will visually display to females with head bobbing, body swaying and wing raising.
Mated pairs use allopreening to reinforce their lifelong bond. Like all birds,
Cacatua leadbeateri
perceives its environment through visual, tactile, auditory and chemical stimuli.
Food Habits
Cacatua leadbeateri
feeds on seeds, nuts, grains, fruits and tubers. They often select habitats that
feature trees of the genus
Callitris
,
Allocasuarina
,
Acacia
and
Eucalyptus
to forage on. They forage both in the trees and on the ground. Their large bills
aid in cracking open thick-shelled nuts and seeds, as well is breaking open tree branches
to access insect larvae. These cockatoos may turn to agricultural grains when native
food resources are in short supply.
- Animal Foods
- insects
- Plant Foods
- roots and tubers
- seeds, grains, and nuts
- fruit
Predation
Local species of falcons and eagles are predators to
Cacatua leadbeateri
.
Red foxes
and
cats
also prey upon this species.
Ecosystem Roles
Cacatua leadbeateri
consume fruit and seeds of many native plants and likely serve as an important seed
disperser for Australian ecosystems.
- Ecosystem Impact
- disperses seeds
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Cacatua leadbeateri is a beautiful and charismatic species and likely brings ecotourism to areas it inhabits. They are also a popular captive pet.
- Positive Impacts
- pet trade
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
There are little negative effects of
Cacatua leadbeateri
on humans, but when food resources are scarce birds may feed on agricultural crops.
Conservation Status
Cacatua leadbeateri
populations have been declining in recent years due to habitat loss and fragmentation.
Much of its forest habitat has been cleared for farms and agricultural fields. These
birds nest in tree hollows, but are unable to excavate cavities themselves and thus
rely on natural hollows or those constructed by other species. The harvesting of
old-growth forests has drastically decreased the number of natural tree cavities for
nesting. The IUCN Red List categorizes this species as of least concern although many
local efforts have been made to support the species. Because of this species' high
market value in the pet industry, populations are threatened by humans who illegally
collect eggs, chicks, or adults. These birds are often hesitant to fly across open,
tree-less habitats, thus efforts are underway to create vegetation corridors to increase
habitat connectivity.
Cacatua leadbeateri
occasionally feeds on agricultural crops, and illegal persecution by farmers is common
as removing several other, similar species of cockatoo is legal. Local efforts are
being made to increase public awareness and understanding of this endemic species.
Additional Links
Contributors
Stephanie Cox (author), Florida State University, Emily DuVal (editor), Florida State University, Rachelle Sterling (editor), Special Projects.
- Australian
-
Living in Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, New Guinea and associated islands.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- temperate
-
that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- tropical savanna and grassland
-
A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.
- savanna
-
A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.
- temperate grassland
-
A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.
- forest
-
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- scrub forest
-
scrub forests develop in areas that experience dry seasons.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- monogamous
-
Having one mate at a time.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- fertilization
-
union of egg and spermatozoan
- oviparous
-
reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.
- altricial
-
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
- male parental care
-
parental care is carried out by males
- female parental care
-
parental care is carried out by females
- arboreal
-
Referring to an animal that lives in trees; tree-climbing.
- diurnal
-
- active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- sedentary
-
remains in the same area
- solitary
-
lives alone
- territorial
-
defends an area within the home range, occupied by a single animals or group of animals of the same species and held through overt defense, display, or advertisement
- social
-
associates with others of its species; forms social groups.
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- pet trade
-
the business of buying and selling animals for people to keep in their homes as pets.
- herbivore
-
An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.
- granivore
-
an animal that mainly eats seeds
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
References
Brown, 1999. Molecular Systematics and Biogeography of the Cockatoos (Psittaciformes:Cacatuidae). The Auk , 116: 141-157.
Forshaw, J. 1978. Parrots of the World. Second Edition . Newton Abbot, Devon, UK: David and Charles Ltd.
Forshaw, J., F. Knight. 2010. Parrots of the World . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Rowley, 1991. The Breeding Biology, Food, Social-Organization, Demography and Conservation of the Major Mitchell or Pink Cockatoo, Cacatua leadbeateri, on the Margin of the Western Australian Wheat Belt. Australian Journal of Zoology , 39: 211-261.
del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, J. Sargatal. 1997. Handbook of Birds of the World; Vol. 4 Sandgrouse to Cuckoos . Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.
2006. Birds of the World . Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
2011. "Cookie Cockatoo Celebrates 77th Birthday" (On-line). Chicago Zoological Society. Accessed March 02, 2011 at http://www.czs.org/czs/cookie77.aspx .
Bird Life International. 2009. "Major Mitchell's Cockatoo" (On-line). Bird Life International. Accessed March 19, 2010 at http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=1397 .