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THE PARROT TRIBE 



species the prevalent tint is black or dark blackish brown. All lack the green, so 

 characteristic of the parrots in general, although a tinge of this color exists on the 

 wings of the ganga. 



The largest of all the cockatoos, and indeed one of the biggest of 



r . the whole parrot tribe, is the great black cockatoo (Microglossus ater- 



rimus), of the Papuan islands and North Australia, which is the sole 



representative of its genus, and may be compared in size to a raven. It differs from 



GREAT BI,ACK COCKATOO, WITH CREST ERECTED. 

 (One-fourth natural size. ) 



all the other members of the family in that the flesh-colored cheeks are entirely 

 naked, and it takes its generic name from the small size of its tongue, which is 

 slender and worm-like, and thus quite unlike that organ in other parrots. It is 

 further characterized by the upper mandible being much compressed, and narrower 

 than the lower one, while the great elongation and narrowness of the feathers of 



