{<0 CACATl in.E. 



The eggs are usually two or three in number for a sitting, occasionally only one, rarely 

 four, and vary from oval to thick and elongate-oval in form, some specimens being somewhat 

 sharply pointed at the smaller end. They are white, but are usually more or less stained with 

 the decayed wood on which they are laid, and typically are rough shelled, although specimens 

 are often found with a comparatively smooth shell, and having minute shallow pitlings; as a 

 rule they are lustreless, but some have a slight gloss. A set of two received from the late Mr. 

 George Barnard, and taken at Coomooboolaroo, Duaringa, Oueensland, on the 12th August, 

 1899, measures r—Length (A) n;') x 1-32 inches: (B) 1-95 x 1-33 inches. A set of three taken 

 by Mr. H. G. Barnard in the same locality, on the loth September, 1893, measures: — Length 

 (A) 1-87 X 1-38 inches: (B) I-.S3 x 1-38 inches; (C) 1-87 x 1-33 inches. He also took a set 

 of three on the 20th September, 190S, at Bimbi, Duaringa, Queensland, which measures: — 

 Length (A) 1-94 x 1-3.^ inches; (B) 1-92 x 1-39 inches; (C) 1-87 x 1-34 inches. 



Young birds assume the adult plumage before they leave the nesting-place, and there is 

 nothing to distinguish them by when si\ months old except their smaller size. 



In Eastern Australia the usual breeding season is .-\ugust and the three following months, 

 but it is greatly influenced by the rains. I have seen young birds recently taken from the 

 nesting-places, exposed for sale in baskets, in the streets of Sydney at all seasons. Of unusual 

 times they were noted, in 1896, on the 28th February and the 15th May. The united cries of a 

 number of young birds in a dealer's shop, clamouring to be fed, is at times simply deafening. I 

 have seen four persons engaged at the one time in feeding them, the treatment of all being alike. 

 Seated on boxes, with a bowl of well boiled maize at hand, each bird is picked up, placed on 

 the feeder's apron, the mandibles opened, and then the bird HUed up with maize, until it refuses 

 to take any more. It is then (juiet and put on one side. Young birds that have to be hand fed 

 always have a soiled look about the mouth. Those reared from the nest make great pets, but 

 if allowed to roam at pleasure about the house, as they freijuently are in country districts, are 

 very destructive, as many indulgent owners know to their cost, for they have a /'(7;(7?(;«i' for biting 

 or gnawing any woodwork, and an example may be seen in the Botanic Gardens, Sydney, where 

 the wooden ceiling to their aviary is eaten away in parts, and wliich has been covered with tin. 

 In confinement they usually acquire an extensive vocabulary, and live to a great age. One 

 died in Sydney, in 1887, that had been in the possession of the late Mr. William Wentworth 

 for a great number of years, and it was believed to be over a century old at the time of its death. 

 This specimen was presented to the Trustees of the Australian Museum. 



While at Cobborah Station, Cobbora, New South Wales, in (Jctober, 1909, I was much 

 amused with one of these birds, which Mr. .\ustin had taken from a nesting-place in a hollow 

 limb of a tree on the station, four years before. It was a very good talker, and was in gayest 

 mood about 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. Kept on the verandah of the homestead, which was furnished 

 with the usual lounge and easy chairs, and facing the garden, it had an opportunity of acquiring 

 a vocabulary from the conversation of visitors, and remarks made to it by Mr. Austin and others 

 in passing. Its chief playmate was a dog, and numerous romps did the pair of them have together. 

 It is needless to relate the many phrases it had ac(]uired, but it had an extensive and varied 

 repertoire. " Piece of cake for Cockatoo " was one of its pet phrases, and " Cocky wants a 

 drink" another, and they were usually persisted in until its wants were supplied. It would 

 imitate the dog barking, and finish up by calling out loudly " Hallo, Juno," at the same time 

 having its wings outspread, head lowered, crest erect, and twisting and turning his body from 

 side to side. In two things especially it excelled, in imitating a person singing, and carrying on 

 in two different voices an imaginary conversation. (3f course there was no syllabication of 

 words, but the inflection of the two different voices was most tnarked, and undoubtedly it was 

 picked up from what it heard on the verandah. The imitation of singing and of a conversation 

 between two persons, would usually last for about ten minutes. 



