The cockatiel has been classified into her own genus, Nymphicus, and has her own species name, hollandicus. The scientific name, which went through several variations before a naturalist named Wagler settled on the present form in 1832, translates literally to “goddess of New Holland,” which is the name Australia was known by in the 1700s
and 1800s.
The cockatiel’s name in English comes from either the Dutch kakatielje, which means “little cockatoo,” or the Portuguese cocatilho, which means “small parrot.”
The first cockatiel color mutation (a color other than one that exists in wild birds) was the pied, which was first seen in California in 1949. The pied mutation results in blotches of color on a mostly white or mostly light-colored bird.
