Cacatua leadbeateri
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The pink cockatoo (Cacatua leadbeateri), also known as Major Mitchell's cockatoo or Leadbeater's cockatoo, is a medium-sized cockatoo that inhabits arid and semiarid inland areas across Australia, with the exception of the north-east.
Irish naturalist Nicholas Aylward Vigors described the species in 1831 as Plyctolophus leadbeateri. The scientific name commemorates the London naturalist and taxidermist Benjamin Leadbeater, who had given Vigors what would become the type specimen. Edward Lear painted it in his 1832 work Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots. Citing Lear, William Swainson gave it the name Plyctolophus erythropterus.
The pink cockatoo is more closely related to Cacatua than is the galah. Its lineage diverged around the time of or shortly after the acquisition of the long crest, probably the former, as this crest type is not found in all Cacatua cockatoos, so must have been present in an early or incipient stage at the time of the divergence of the pink cockatoo's ancestors. Like the galah, this species has not lost the ability to deposit diluted pigment dyes in its body plumage, although it does not produce melanin colouration... Wikipedia →
Recording0:20
Australia · 2026
© Thomas Mesaglio · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
Recording0:22
Australia · 2022
© Sue Tardif · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:23
Australia · 2025
© scottglobetrots · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perth | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Major Mitchell's Cockatoo sighting in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park on a given day, based on 105 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 99th most-seen of the 170 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and June–October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Major Mitchell's Cockatoo in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May and November–March, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Major Mitchell's Cockatoo sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Major Mitchell's Cockatoo sightings, Hattah-Kulkyne National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (Australia, about 10%).
Same genus: Cacatua
The closest relatives of the Major Mitchell's Cockatoo that you can see in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park (genus Cacatua, White Cockatoos and Corellas) are Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (about 60%) and Little Corella (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Major Mitchell's Cockatoo is recorded against all the birds logged in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park (105 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
