Major Mitchell's cockatoo

noun

Major Mitch·​ell's cockatoo

variants or Major Mitchell cockatoo or Major Mitchell

: a white Australian cockatoo (Lophochroa leadbeateri synonym Cacatua leadbeateri) with the plumage flushed roseate and a large, showy crest barred yellow and red

Two birds with amazing crests are the sulphur-crested cockatoo and the Major Mitchell's cockatoo …

—Ranger Rick, September 1985

… past flocks of Major Mitchell cockatoos, which take to the sky in fear, revealing the crimson splash of the underwings.

—Bob Reiss, Smithsonian, June 1986

called also pink cockatoo

Word History

Etymology

after Major Sir Thomas Mitchell †1855 British explorer in Australia

First Known Use

circa 1898, in the meaning defined above

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