THE HELMET COCKATOO. 



403 



While on the ground its mode of progression is not the ungainly waddle generally 

 employed by the Parrot tribe, but is accomplished by hopping something after the fashion 

 of the rooks, the wings aiding in each hop. One species of this genus has been known to 

 imitate the human voice with much accuracy. This is the Southern Nestor, or the Kaka of 

 the natives (Nestor Ji.ypopblius). The voice of the Long-billed Parrot is harsh, loud, and very 

 disagreeable, and i:s said to resemble the continual barking of a hoarse-voiced, ill-tempered 

 cur. While ranging among the trees, these birds fill the woods with their dissonant, quacking 

 barks. The eggs of this species are white, and, as is generally the case with the Parrots, are 

 laid in the hollow of a decaying tree. 



The birds which belong to the genus Nestor may at once be known by their extraordinarily 

 long upper mandibles, which curve far over the lower, and remind the observer of the over- 

 grown tooth so common in the rat, rabbit, and other rodent animals. This remarkable struc- 

 ture is very probably for the purpose of enabling the bird to scoop roots and other vegetable 

 substances out of the earth. The length, curve, and shape of the upper mandible differ in the 

 various species. Another peculiarity is that the tips of the tail-feathers are partially denuded 

 of their webs, leaving the shaft to project slightly beyond the feathered portion. Some persons 

 suppose the Long-billed Parrots to form a link between the Parrots and the Cockatoos. 



Neither of these birds are remarkable for brilliancy of plumage, the prevailing tints being 

 brown and gray, with a little red and yellow here and there. The Philip's Island Parrot is 

 dark brown on the upper sur- 

 face of the body, but takes a 

 grayish hue on the head and 

 back of the neck. Each feather 

 of the upper surface is edged 

 with a deeper tinge, so that the 

 otherwise uniform gray and 

 brown is agreeably mottled. 

 The cheeks, throat, and breast 

 are yellow, warming into 

 orange on the face. The inner 

 surface of the shoulders is 

 olive-yellow, and the abdomen 

 and both tail-coverts are deep 

 orange-red. The toil is mod- 

 erately long, and squared at 

 the extremity. The feathers 

 are crossed at their base by 

 bunds of orange-yellow and 

 brown, and the under surfaces 

 of the inner webs are brown, 

 mingled with dusky red. The 

 feet are dark blackish brown, 

 and the long bill is uniformly 

 of a brownish tint. The total 

 length of the adult bird is 

 about fifteen inches. 



TIIK HELMET COCKATOO 

 is a good representative of a 

 very curious genus of Cocka- 

 toos resident in Australia. 



The plumage of these birds, instead of being white or roseate as in the two previous 

 Cockatoos, is always of a dark color, and frequently dyed with the richest hues. About six 

 species belong to this genus, and they all seem to be wild and fierce birds, capable of using 



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HELMET COCKATOO. Cnlyptmrhynchus gakatus. 



