CHAPTER XXVI. 



l$esfern 



I His noble bird, like the last, is a native of West 

 Australia, where it replaces the Slenderbill (Lie metis 

 nasicus) of the eastern parts of that country. It is 

 nearly as large as a Moluccan but is shorter and stouter. 

 Like the Bare-eye it has not much crest, and like that 

 clever bird it makes the most of what it has. 



The sample, I mean the individual, I possessed was 

 a fine male and a good talker for a Cockatoo, but 

 unfortunately he had picked up some very vulgar ex- 

 pressions, and made some exceedingly disagreeable 

 noises, which forced me to give him away to the "Zoo", 

 where I thought his objectionable remarks would 

 not be noticed amid the din of the Parrot-house: but 

 perhaps that may have been the reason why I did not 

 see him the next time I paid a visit there, nor could 

 I learn anything about him from the civil attendant. 

 So that I am quite in the dark as to his ultimate his- 

 tory, and was not encouraged to add again to the 



collection in Regent's Park. 



The scientific name is Licmetis pastinator. 



