NESTS AND EGGS OF AUSTRAL' AN BIRDS. 5i j 



is a specimen wliich Mr. Keartland lias kindly permitted me to re- 

 describe from his collection, said to have been taken from the spout 

 of a living eucal3-pt tree near Wan\agul, Victoria, 20th October, 1897. 



The late Mr. Gregory Bateman infonncd me that he know of an 

 instance of five yoinig Gang-Gangs having l)ocn taken from a nest in 

 the Strathlxigio Ranges. 



The Gang-Gang has the reputation of being easily tamed. It is not 

 unlike an African Parrot, with forehead, crest and cheeks scarlet. 



480. — C.\CATUA GALERiT.\, Latham. — (391) 

 WHITE COCKATOO. 



Figure. — Could : Birds of Australia, fol., vol. v., pi. i. 



Reference. — Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. xx., p. ii6. 



Previous Descriptiom of Eggs. — Gould : Birds of Australia (1848) ; 

 also Handbook, vol. ii., p. 4 (1865) ; North : Austn. Mus. 

 Cat., p. 250 (1SS9). 



Geographictil Disi/rihtifion. — Australia in general, Tasmania and 

 King Island. 



A^e.'it. — A hole in a tree usually. 



E(/r/s. — Clutch, two to three, occasionally four ; elongated in fonn 

 or tapering towards one end ; texture somewhat coarse ; surface 

 glossy, and minutely pitted, with here and there a limy nodule ; coloiu', 

 white. Dimensions in inches of proper pairs: A (1) 2'04 x 1'28, 

 (2) 1-94 X 1-24; B (1) 1-92 x 1-35, (2) 1-68 x 1-32. 



Oh.^ervntions. — There is no more widely distriljuted species of Aus- 

 tralian Cockatoos than the Great >Sulphur-crested or Wliite Cockatoo. 

 It is really an imposing creatiu'e, about twenty inches in total length. 

 Although the plumage is generally white, some of the underneath 

 parts, such as the wings and tail, wear a slight yellowish tinge. The 

 beautiful crest or top-knot, which can be erected at will, is pure yellow. 

 The whole of the light^coloured plumage is enhanced by powerful, 

 abrtiptly-curved black bill and black eyes, while the short feet are greyish 

 in colour. The harsh, discordant screech of these birds grates terribly on 

 one's ear; but it is a beautiful sight to see their snowy forms crowded 

 upon a tall eucalypt, or in more northern forests to witness them 

 clinging on to and feeding on the bunches of seeds upon the stems 

 under the frondage of elegant palms. The White Cockatoos which 

 I observed in the northern scrubs possessed, as a rule, more powerful 

 bills than those in southern parts. Perhaps, as Gould remarked, the 

 difference in the size of the mandibles may be according to the kind 

 of localities the birds have to search for their particular food. 



Gould says the White Cockatoo sometimes places its eggs in fissures 

 of rocks wherever they present a- suitable site, and that the crevices 



