Solomons cockatoo lifespan3/18/2024 ![]() Authors of one experiment tried to capture more Galahs and observed how the population of local Major Mitchell’s will react. ![]() This species competes with more common Galah Cockatoo (Eolophus roseicapillus), especially in the Eastern part of the habitat. So even for some local ornithologists seeing of the wild Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo might be a rare experience. The regular size of a territory of one pair is about 30km2. According to Garnett’s findings (2011) there are about 15 000 adult individuals left in the wild and they are well dispersed over the habitat. However, if they find a rich food source then they can stay at the place for a few months, sometimes for a whole year.Īlthough this species is common in Australian aviaries, it’s not so easy to find it in the wild. That’s why Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos have to migrate for longer distance to find food. The most important limiting factor is lack of water. This species generally inhabits areas with low cover of Allocasuarina, Eucalyptus and Callitris trees. The nominate race is found in South East Australia, subspecies molis in central and western part. Major Mitchell‘s Cockatoo (Cacatua leadbeateri) inhabits inland arid areas exclusively. We may divide the Australian continent on two worlds – coastal wet forests and inland savannahs, semi-deserts sand deserts. ![]() Forshaw (2002) didn’t find any difference in body size between these two forms. Subspecies leadbeateri has paler crest with distinct yellow band (Forshaw, 2010). When I visited Australia in this summer I had a chance to see an amazing collection of Julie and Barry Blanch who owed pure individuals of this race. The main characteristic is the shade of red color in the crest which should be darker without or with a narrow yellow band in latter subspecies. However, there are some authors who question such classification as differences are really slight. We recognize two subspecies of the Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo – Cacatua leadbeateri leadbeateri and Cacatua leadbeateri molis. ![]() Major Mitchell’s in Birdworld Kuranda, Australian bird park (c) Lubomir Tomiska If we looked on phylogenetic tree we would find this species as closely related to the Galah Cockatoo (Eolophus roseicapillus) and the group of Solomons Cockatoo (Cacatua ducorpsii), Philippine Cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygia) and Little Corella (Cacatua sanguinea)(White, 2011 Brown & Toft, 1999). What is more, when young birds beg for food, they don’t move with their heads from one side to the other side but rather from the front backwards. In comparison with other Cacatua species, Major Mitchell’s chicks have more sparse primary down which doesn’t grow on the whole body but only in two rows along the ridge. Although this name is used especially by Australian authors and in most of the books (including the new HBW and BirdLife International Checklist of the Birds of the World, del Hoyo 2014) we find Cacatua leadbeateri. However, according to Forshaw (2010) the differences between Major Mitchell’s and other representatives of this genus are so significant that they can’t share the same genus name. Mostly, it’s classified in genus Cacatua. There are two possible latin names used for this species. In English speaking countries this cockatoo is called Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo or Pink Cockatoo. Alfred Edmund Brehm called this cockatoo in this way because the colorful crest reminded him Indian headbands. The Czech or German name „ Inka Kakadu“ was firstly mentioned in the well-known book Brehms Tierleben (in English Brehm’s Animals Life). How is that in Australia this cockatoo is kept and bred usually while in Europe the price is much higher and we have such problems to breed it? What’s the cause? The following article describes the Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo. In breeding of cockatoos, especially white species, this is maybe the most important factor. We can’t forget about mental health of our birds. So the right aviary, right nestbox and right diet are not the only essential conditions. A very often obstacle in successful breeding of this species is male aggression or imprinting. However, their breeding can be tricky sometimes and that’s why this species is rare in captivity in Europe. There is no doubt that the Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo ( Cacatua leadbeateri) represents one of the most beautiful parrots. Read also the second part of this article: Biology and breeding of the Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo.
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