Cyclone Debbie: Saturated cockatoo in photo dies

A bedraggled cockatoo that was pictured stripped of its feathers in a cyclone-hit Australian forest has died.

The bird - dubbed "Debbie", after the cyclone - was rescued among broken twigs in Queensland on Tuesday.

A photograph of the cockatoo, by the Townsville Bulletin's Alix Sweeney, became a ubiquitous image of the storm.

The newspaper reported that the bird had been found dead in its box on Thursday and was returned to the forest where it had been buried.

The cockatoo had probably suffered injuries during the cyclone, a wildlife carer said.

On Tuesday, Ms Sweeney said she "couldn't miss" the white bird among the greenery.

"There was a whole group of cockatoos sitting way up in the trees just clinging on during the gale force winds," she said.