Major Mitchell’s cockatoo

Scientific name:

Lophochroa leadbeateri Conservation status in Victoria: Vulnerable

Largest Victorian population: Pine Plains, Wyperfeld NP Habitat: Semi-arid woodlands featuring slender cypress pine ( Callitris gracilis)

Pine Plains population in 1998: 62 breeding pairs

Pine Plains population in 2017: 20 breeding pairs

Victor Hurley describes the major as a “supreme specialist” that fulfils a specific function in its ecosystem, dispersing cypress pine seeds and sometimes excavating new hollows when fallen tree limbs leave soft, exposed wood – an Australian version of the woodpecker.