i8;o 



THE PARROT TRIBE 



Ganga 



The curiously-colored ganga, or helmeted cockatoo (Callocephalum 



Typical 



galeatum) , of Southeastern Australia and Tasmania, differs so decidedly 

 from all its allies as to constitute a genus by itself. The tail, as in the 

 two following genera, is of moderate length and nearly even; while the head and 

 crest of the male are of a flaming red, and the general color of the upper and under 

 parts gray. The cere is peculiar in being feathered, and, while the beak is horn 

 colored, the feet are nearly black. There is a tinge of green on the primaries of the 

 wings. The length of this cockatoo is thirteen and one half inches. It is a shy and 

 forest-loving species, generally leading a solitary life among the topmost boughs 

 of the tallest gum trees, on the seeds of which it subsists. 



With the exception of the rose-breasted species, in the typical cock- 

 'c^k t ato os, which are those generally kept as pets, the predominant color 

 of the plumage is either white or rosy white, while in the whole of 



them the upper mandible has a short hook 

 curving downward nearly at a right angle 

 to its base. The species, fifteen in num- 

 ber, range over Australia and the islands 

 to the north as far as the Philippines, and 

 include the most gorgeously-colored repre- 

 sentatives of the family. The crest is sub- 

 ject to considerable variation in form and 

 color, such variations being of the highest 

 importance in the determination of the 

 various species. In the first place, the 

 genus may be divided into two groups, 

 according to the form of the crest. In 

 one of these two main groups the crest 

 feathers are slender and terminate in sharp 

 points which curve forward. One of the 

 best-known representatives of this group 

 is the greater sulphur-crested cockatoo 

 (Cacatua galerita) from Australia, in which 

 the feathers of the body are pure white, 



the cere naked, the crest sulphur yellow, and the naked skin round the eyes 

 white. This is one of the largest species, measuring from eighteen to twenty 

 inches in total length. In the much smaller lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo, in 

 which the length does not exceed thirteen inches, the body feathers are slightly 

 tinged with yellow, while there is also a patch of yellow on the ear coverts, in addi- 

 tion to that on the crest; this species inhabiting Celebes and some of the neighbor- 

 ing islands. From both of these the citron-crested cockatoo (C. citrino-cristatus}, 

 from the island of Timor- L,aut, is readily distinguished by the orange yellow of the 

 crest. Far more gorgeous than all the others is, however, the beautiful L,eadbeat- 

 er's cockatoo (C. leadbeateri) of South Australia, in which the crest is vermilion 

 at the base, with a yellow band traversing this colored area, while the tips of the 

 feathers are white. The cere is also feathered. While the plumage of most of the 



HEAD OF BLOOD-STAINED COCKATOO. 

 (From Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1871.) 



