133 



reporter's honest opinion of the birds at the time he 

 sees them, but should be, instead, simply an indorsement 

 of the Judge's placing, there is no need of a reporter at 

 all. ' W. A. I,oTT. 



A vSAIvMON-CRESTED COCKATOO. 



Sir, — My Salmon-crest is a great pet and a most 

 intelligent bird. He does not sing as some parrots do, 

 but he whistles any number of pretty tunes which he 

 composes himself. He sits still with his beak half open 

 and whistles by the hour — when he goes too high he 

 stops, and begins again in a lower key. He will whistle 

 at any time when I tell him to, and likes especially to 

 perform before several people — then he will trill like a 

 prima donna, shaking his head and erecting his crest, 

 then, suddenly taking a bashful fit, he will hide his face 

 on my shoulder. 



He is fond of black coffee and will drink it out of a 

 spoon, holding it himself without spilling it. I do any- 

 thing I like with him — I wrapped him up in paper the 

 other day and made a parcel of him, and he enjoyed the 

 joke. 



He distinguishes coloured pictures. If I shew him a 

 chromo of a cat he pretends to be very much frightened, 

 raises his crest, erects all his feathers, and hisses, but if 

 I shew him a coloured plate of a Cockatoo he wdll kiss 

 it. I have not known any other animal do this. If the 

 pictures are black and white he does not recognise them. 

 On the other hand, he is not taken in by a looking glass, 

 and cares not at all for it. 



I sometimes wonder whether he is a feathered cat, 

 or a monkey in a cockatoo's plumes, for he is so livel}', 

 so comical, so mischievous, and withal so loving and 

 sweet, that he is enough to occupy the attention of a 

 household all day long. G1UI.IA Tommasi. 



FOOD FOR NIGHTINGAIvFS. 

 Sir, — I was much interested in the Countess 

 Tommasi Baldelli's account of the manner in which 



