THE BARE-EYED COCKATOO. 127 



My Bare-eye was not such an accomplished bird as 

 that by a long way; but it was not without its merits, 

 too; for instance, during the short time it was with me 

 it caught up from the Moluccan the chant of the hen 

 in which that maestro used so to delight, and rendered 

 it with considerable effect: also such sentences as "Who 

 are you?" "What do you want?" " Good morning", 

 and so on, and would, I feel sure, have made an excel- 

 lent talker and mimic, but I had to part with it, as I 

 had to do with the rest of my Cockatoos, on account 

 of the noise, which an invalid neighbour complained 

 of: so that I sighed for "a home in some vast wilder- 

 ness", where I could keep as many as, and what kind 

 of birds, I pleased, but such being, fortunately, or unfor- 

 tunately, not forthcoming at the time, the "Cockies" 

 had to go. 



This species feeds on grain of all kinds and is quite 

 hardy; I believe a pair would breed in an outdoor 

 aviary, though of course they would not develop into 

 talkers there, but it might be worth somebody's while 

 to try and get a few aviary-bred Bare-eyes. 



The scientific name is Cacatua gymnopis. 



