CACAIUA. 91 



egt^s when it is usual io find three or four. The youn;4 when hatched are covered with pink 

 down, and do not open their eyes for several days after. Both Galahs and Blood-stained 

 Cockatoos have become very fond of the seeds of the domestic pie melon, which has run wild all 

 over this district. They have no doubt been led to this by their fondness for the beads of the small 

 wild melon, and the scarcity of any other food." 



From the Lands Oflice, Orange, New South Wales, Mr. \V. M. Thomas wrote: — "A 

 singular action of the Galah (Cacatiui yosciiapilla) that 1 have fre(]uently noted on the (3unningbar 

 Creek and the iNIacquarie and Castlereagh Rivers, is that it removes the bark from a patch on 

 the trunk of the tree in a hollow of which it has its nest. This removal was always commenced 

 on the south-east side of the tree: in some instances it extended right round the barrel, but 

 always the larger area of removal was on the south-east side. In one case I noted that the bark 

 had been removed for three or four years in succession, the removal patch being increased every 

 year. I failed to discover any reason for this action." 



.Mr. (i. A. Keartland sends me the following note from Melbourne, X'ictoria : — " Catattia 

 I'ost-iccipilln is the most widely dispersed species of the family Cacatuih.e. It is found from 

 within ten miles of Melbourne to the extreme north of the continent, and from the east to west 

 coast. L'nlike most of the Psittacid.k they line their nests with freshly gathered Eucalyptus 

 leaves, and I have often found tlieir selected tree by following the bird with a leafy twig in its 

 bill. They are ground feeders, and live principally on seeds, bulbs, >.Vc., which they hnd amongst 

 the grass. During the winter they congregate in large flocks, but in the spring are found in 

 pairs. They make capital pets, and when taken young the males soon learn to articulate short 

 sentences and perform tricks. During my travels m Western and North-western Australia with 

 the Calvert Exploring Expedition, I often shot Galahs for the cook, and we made many good 

 meals off them, as they can be eaten more often with a relish than any other game I tried." 



From Broome Hill, South-western Australia, Mr. Tom Carter writes me as follows : — "The 

 Rose-breasted Cockatoo was fairly common in the Gascoyne and Ashburton districts, and I have 

 noted the birds at Mingeven, a considerable distance south of Geraldton. A flock of them 

 perched in the limbs of a flowering White Gum tree is one of the most beautiful sights to be 

 seen in the bush. A pair were observed clearing out a nesting hole as early as l\Iay, although 

 the breeding season is in September. Mulga and Gidgea timber are the usual nesting sites, not 

 White Gum." 



For the purposes of breeding any suitable hollow in a tree is selected, either low or high, 

 all the rotten wood is bitten oft' and cleared away, as is also the bark around the entrance, and 

 the bottom of the cavity is lined with green Gum leaves, the same nesting-place being resorted 

 to year after year. This habit of gnawing away the bark around the entrance hole, renders the 

 nesting-place readily found. When in the Coonamble District, Cacatna roscuapiUa, I w^as informed, 

 always started to bite off the bark on the south-eastern side of a trunk, and as moss or lichen grow 

 only on the south side of a tree, the latter is an infallible guide to one lost in the bush. 



The eggs are usually four, sometimes Ave, in number for a sitting, and vary considerably 

 in shape and size, occasionally even in the same set ; oval to thick and elongate oval are most 

 frequently found, and thick ovals with a very pointed smaller end are not uncommon ; they are 

 pure white, and are usually free from the usual nest stains so common in the eggs ofthe different 

 species of Australian Psittaci, owing to the thick bedding of Eucalyptus leaves on which they are 

 laid. Typically they are comparatively smooth-shelled, with minute shallow pittings on the surface 

 when examined with the lens, and are as a rule lustrous. A set of four taken by Mr. S. Robinson 

 on Buckiinguy Station, on the Macquarie River, New South Wales, on the i6th September, 

 1896, measures :— Length (A) 1-43 x roS inches; (B) 1-38 x 1-07 inches; (C) 1-45 x i-o8 

 inches; (D) 1-49 x i inches. .Vnother set of four taken on the same date and in the same 



