The life of Debbie the cockatoo has tragically come to an end.

The life of Debbie the cockatoo, who quickly became an icon of Queensland’s Cyclone Debbie, has tragically come to an end.

Debbie was rescued by Townsville Bulletin photographer Alix Sweeney at Airlie Beach on Tuesday, where her battered body, stripped of most of its feathers, stood among fallen branches.

During the height of the cyclone, the Bulletin‘s John Andersen said the birds were clinging to trees.

“People think wildlife are instinctive about thing like cyclones, but there was an entire flock of cockatoos caught out in the open and a lot of them died,” he said.

A motel owner initially found Debbie while walking her dogs as the cyclone went quiet, and said the bird didn’t move when her dogs approached it.

When she heard about the cockatoo, Sweeney took a towel and rescued the bird. “He just looked so sad,” the photographer told Nine News. “I don’t know how this guy survived.”

Sweeney kept Debbie safe in a box in her motel room, but while the bird ate some seeds, she refused to drink.

Debbie the cockatoo looking much better today thanks to @JohnAndooutback @tsv_bulletin #CycloneDebbie https://t.co/oOJsogGFTT pic.twitter.com/xkxgOP18ds

— Damien Tomlinson (@DamTom79) March 28, 2017

Wildlife carers couldn’t reach the cockatoo because roads were closed due to flooding, and on Thursday morning, Debbie was found dead in her box.

Queensland Wildlife volunteer Bree Williams told the Courier Mail the bird likely died from internal injuries.

It’s a tragic end to what has been a destructive few days in Queensland.

Image credit: Alix Sweeney, Townsville Bulletin.