THE COCKATOOS. 16^ 



are grain-eaters, very easy to keep, and many are i»i- 

 ported into Calcutta, where they are usually chained or 

 caged. An aviary would have to be very strong to hold 

 them, as they have most powerful beaks, which they are 

 always burning to use. As, therefore, they are rather 

 out of the scope of the present work, I shall confine my 

 remarks to the only small and long-tailed member of the 

 family which bears much the same relation to the big 

 Cockatoos as the Parakeets do to the big short-tailed 

 Parrots. 



The Cockatiel {Nymphicus novce-hollandice).'^ The 

 general shape, size and colours of this bird may be gathered 

 from the fig-ure (Fig. 2) on Plate VII. The spot on the 

 cheek is bright orange-red and is present in both sexes. 

 But the female differs from the male, which is the sex 

 figured, in having the rest of the head olive instead of 

 yellow, and in having the side feathers of the tail barred 

 with black and yellow, instead of plain black as in the 

 cock. She is thus very easily distinguishable, and the 

 young of both sexes resemble her at first. 



The form of the Cockatiel is particularly slender and 

 graceful, and this is well shown by its very close and neat- 

 looking plumage. It is, as might be expected from its 

 long wings, a strong and graceful flier, and more active 

 on the gTound than most Parrots, being a ground-feeder in 

 its native country, Australia. There it is often called the 

 " Joey " on account of the red patch on the cheeks, like 

 a clown's decorations. The name *' Joey " is also 

 applied to the Rosella, presumably because, like the 

 Biblical Joseph, it has a coat of many colours. 



