78 CACATUID.E 



The normal food of this species consists of seeds of various i<inds and bulL)ous roots. It is 

 also very destructi\e in cultivation paddocks when the grain is sown, and again when it is ready 

 to harvest, assembhng in immense flocks in agricultural areas and committing great depredations. 

 A merciless warfare is constantly waged against it, but so wary are they when feasting in a 

 newly planted paddock, or standing crop, that it is difficult to get within range, sentinels always 

 keeping watch, usually on the tops of high trees, and giving warning with their harsh and 

 discordant notes on the approach of danger. In addition to the ravages committed by the 

 Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, it seems to take a delight in nipping off the blossom or leafy twigs 

 ill a spirit of pure mischief, a peculiarity shared by many members of this family. Respecting 

 the destructive habits of this species in North-eastern Queensland, Dr. I'.. 1'. Ramsay wrote:! — 

 Cacatiia galcrita seems universally dispersed over the whole of Australia, and it is not one whit 

 the less mischie\ ious in the Cardwell L'istrict than any other. 1 found that these birds frequented 

 the Palm trees when the seeds are ripening, and there perched on the fruiting stems amused 

 themselves biting off the strings of red or green berries, and watching them as they fell to the 

 ground. I have noticed it in New South Wales treating some of the flowering Eucalypti in 

 the same way, and have frequently seen large trees with scarcely a bough untouched, and the 

 whole ground underneath strewn with the leaves and branches. It seldom eats either the 

 blossoms or the capsules of the Eucnlvpfi, although they do feed on the Palm {Ptyilwspcrma 

 ale\audi-(c) berries, and afterwards begin its work of destruction. 



Stomachs of birds shot in April at Tarana, New South Wales, all contained coarse gravel, 

 and some well ground maize. Others contained seeds of various kinds and portions of tuberous 

 roots. 



From Bimbi, r)uaringa, Queensland, Mr. H. Greensill iJarnard wrote me: — "Cacatiia gtila-itii 

 bred very early in 1908, and several nests visited in August contained young. The majority 

 of the nests examined this season contained three young ones, and out of three sets of 

 eggs taken two contained three eggs; this is unusual, as it is generally about one set in four that 

 contain three eggs, the usual set being two, and I have known of several instances of only one 

 egg being laid, and I once took a set of four. The nest taken in igo8 containing the set of 

 two eggs, was in a large Swamp Gum, and as the birds had bred there the year before I expected 

 they would frequent the same locality again. On reaching the place and tapping the tree with 

 my tomahawk, a bird flew out. I ascended the tree in the usual manner, by cutting steps, and 

 on getting to the hole was surprised to see a Cockatoo sitting at the bottom, about fifteen 

 inches from the entrance. How to find out what she was sitting on was the puzzle. I first 

 tried to lift her over with a stick, but she would not budge ; then I folded my felt hat, and placing 

 it over the bird worked my hand quietly under her and secured a pair of eggs slightly sat upon. 

 I have never known a Cockatoo to remain in the hole before when I have been climbing the tree. 

 The usual breeding months in this district are September and October, and the situation of the 

 nest a large hole in a Gum-tree, any height from thirty to se\enty feet from the ground, and the 

 depth of the nesting hollow is from one to six feet." 



Mr. George Savidge, of Copmanhurst, Upper Clarence River, New South Wales, writes 

 me as follows: — " Cacatiia galcrita was at one time very numerous in this district, but tlie havoc 

 it played on the ripening maize fields and upon newly planted grounds caused it to be persecuted, 

 poisoned and shot to such an extent that amongst the more settled parts it is indeed a rare bird. 

 I have seen the ground white with them pulling up the maize as it showed above ground, and 

 soon destroying a whole field of it. In the early days poisoning was chiefly resorted to, maize 

 being soaked in strychnine diluted in water, and scattered about. Upon one occasion I saw the 

 poor creatures laying dead in large numbers in the bush. These birds are wary and difficult to 

 approach, and seem to know a gun ; it is seldom one can give them a surprise, although the tail 



f Proc. Zool. Soc, 1S75, p. 601. 



