36 Sir ay Feathers. '" [, 



2th July 



— have been seen. Betchcrygahs {Melopsittacus undulatus) are 

 fairly numerous, but uneasy, as if in strange country. Years 

 sometimes pass without our seeing these most lovely little 

 birds, then, suddenly, the bush is alive with them. My brother, 

 on a trip in from the Northern Territory, when about Boulia, 

 saw them in thousands. He said he saw a flock alight in a 

 dead tree, covering every twig, until the tree appeared to be 

 coated with fresh green leaves. I have never seen so many as 

 that, but a few days ago I noticed a small flock on a dead 

 branch which had a similar effect — made more beautiful by the 

 pretty colouring of a few Galahs {Cacatua roseicapilla) amongst 

 them, like pink flowers among green leaves. 



" A large flock of Galahs on a partially dead myall tree has 



a most wonderful effect at a distance of about a quarter of a 



mile. The grey and pink clothe the bare branches, and give 



them the appearance of bursting into blossom, almost the shade 



of some double peach blossom. The Galah is perhaps the most 



common bird about here, rarely being altogether absent, and 



frequently being noticed out on the Downs in flocks of hundreds, 



their numbers generally being strengthened with a plentiful 



sprinkling of White and Black Cockatoos. The whole flock 



feeds amicably together, always keeping a sentinel stationed on 



some near-by tree or fence, which warns its congeners of the 



approach of danger, not visible to them in the long grass. At 



the warning cry, in one moment the air is full of a clamouring, 



shrieking mass, which, as the danger passes, soon settles on 



the feeding ground again. Have you ever seen a proper flight 



of Galahs ? Most likely not, unless you have been in the 



interior, on the well-grassed Downs. It is a most wonderful 



sight, and, once seen, never to be forgotten. I will endeavour to 



describe such a scene, but, with the best description, there must 



be much left to the imagination which words fail to supply. 



Usually when the weather is broken or unsettled, though often 



on a windy winter morning, or in thundery weather in March or 



April, against the grey masses of cloud which bank up, forming 



a sombre background, it would seem that all the Galahs in the 



vicinity had gathered into one flock, shrieking and screaming as 



they circle high in the air, all beating their wings in perfect 



unison. So, as it were at a given signal, instantaneously the 



delicate rose-coloured breasts are all turned the one way, 



making a beautiful glow of colour as the birds veer round ; 



then, with one beat, the flock seems to have almost disappeared, 



just a glimpse of silvery-grey flashing as they turn their 



backs ; * then a mere speck where each bird is flying, so small 



that one would hardly believe it to be a bird, so almost invisible 



does the grey become ; then a flash of silvery light before the 



* A similar scene is mentioned in "Nests and Eggs" (Campbell), p. 617. — 

 Eds. 



