150 THE SPEAKING PAREOTS. 



It is a native of South and West Australia. Gould says it is 

 a striking ornament to the primeval forests there, and appears at 

 certain times in large flights at particular places. Its voice is 

 not so shrill and piercing as that of other cockatoos, but rather 

 soft and plaintive ; neither is it so noisy and excitable. 



Opinions concerning the different specimens of this bird differ 

 just as much as in those of the cockatoos already treated, and, of 

 course, from the same cause. Although in general Leadbeater's 

 Cockatoo is gentle, affectionate, and peaceable with other birds, 

 yet there are some among them which are so indescribably wild 

 and vicious that every attempt at training them must fail. 

 Mr. A. E. Blaauw writes that a Leadbeater's Cockatoo, which he 

 had just received after the tiring journey from London to 

 Amsterdam, came at once on to his outstretched finger, erected 

 its splendid crest when desired, and chattered and piped most 

 charmingly. Moreover, it was just as gentle towards strangers ; 

 yet there were some individuals whom it could not bear and 

 always pecked and screamed at without apparent reason. Dr. 

 Lazarus finds that the Leadbeater's Cockatoos come into the 

 market very little, or not at all tamed, and that they are much 

 less vivacious, pleasing, and gifted than the others. In spite of 

 great trouble, he was neither able to tame his own nor to 

 teach them to speak a single word, not even to whistle a simple 

 call. At the same time they were distressing screamers. More- 

 over, the forcible taming which is always successfully tried with 

 Jacos, Amazons, &c. (see page 37), made a Leadbeater Cockatoo, 

 on the contrary, only the more wild and vicious. And, though 

 this bird belonged to the exceptions of which I have before 

 spoken, yet it is significant to find that it will not be tamed 

 even by hunger and thirst. On the whole, this species coincides 

 in all material respects with the preceding varieties. It cannot, 

 indeed, be reckoned amongst the most eminenty gifted speakers, 

 for a Leadbeater's Cockatoo will probably learn at most to 

 chatter a few words or sentences. 



A specimen of this kind was first placed in the Zoological 

 Gardens, in London, in 1854, and since 1863 it has appeared in 

 our bird shops often enough to be considered a well-known 

 object to fanciers. Its brilliant appearance misleads many a 

 purchaser, who, on acquiring it, is at a loss how to manage it, 

 and consequently gets rid of it again as soon as possible. 



