(according to the fossil record) or 66 m.y.a. While psittaciform parrots (true parrots) and cockatoos have many common anatomical attributes such as zygodactyl feet and hooked bills, the cockatoos and true parrots diverged from the ancestral parrots as separate lineages as early as 45 m.y.a.

The term 'white cockatoo' has also been applied as a group term to members of the subgenus Cacatua, the genus Cacatua as well as larger groups including Major Mitchell's cockatoo and the galah cockatoo. It lies in the subgenus Cacatua within the genus Cacatua. Its species name alba is a feminine form of the Latin adjective albus for 'white'. The white cockatoo was first described in 1776 by German zoologist Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller. The white cockatoo is known as ayab (plural form: ayot) in the Burmeso language of Papua, Indonesia. It is similar to other species of white cockatoo such as yellow-crested cockatoo, sulphur-crested cockatoo, and salmon-crested cockatoo, all of which have yellow, orange or pink crest feathers instead of white. The wings and tail have a pale yellow or lemon color which is exposed when they fly.

When surprised, it extends a large and striking head crest, which has a semicircular shape (similar to an umbrella, hence the alternative name). The white cockatoo ( Cacatua alba), also known as the umbrella cockatoo, is a medium-sized all-white cockatoo endemic to tropical rainforest on islands of Indonesia.

Angry umbrella cockatoo