

////: /////./ i /// AI: A TOO. 



large, sharply curved, and having its cuttii . -toothed, while the lower mandible is 



corni>arativeh small, and onlj furnished nidi I -m.-!-- tooth 



It is a name ,.f \, u tiuin-a and the neighboring islands, and U not a very common bint. 

 although s|)ecimens may U found in several museums. The peculiar formation of the tongue 

 and beak would lead the ob- 

 sen.-r h>anp|>ose iliat its habits 

 must be difT.-rvnt fn.m those of 

 . >n I i nary Cockatoos; but as lit- 

 tle or nothing is known of its 

 mode of lift- in a wild state, 

 the precise use of these organs 

 is rather problematical. 



In size, this bird is one of 

 the largest of the Parrot tribe, 

 being equal to and in some 

 oases exceeding that of the 

 great macaws, although tip- 



absence .if the lolii; lai n !, lers 



it a less conspicuous bird. Tip- 

 general color of this species is 

 deep black, with a greenish 

 gloss, caused chiefly by the 



_' amount of whitish powder 

 which is secreted in c.Ttain 

 im]>erfect quills, and thence 

 scattered among the feathers, 



ing them a kind of " bloom," 

 like, that of the plum orgraji*-. 

 This substance is found 

 very largely in most of the Par. 

 rot tribe,' and I well n-np-mU-r 

 getting myco.it powdered like 

 that of a miller from playing 

 with a great white Cockatoo. 

 Many other birds, such as the 

 vultures, possess this curious 



powdery substance, whose office is rather doubtful. The powd.-r is produced fn.m the forma- 

 tive substance of the quill, which, instead of being developed into shaft and web, as in the 

 case of the perfect quills, dries up and is then thrown off in a dusty form. The im|--rf.-< t 

 quill-feathers can generally be seen intermixed with the rest of the plumage when tip- Cockatoo 

 U-nds down its head or plumes itself, and the white substance may I-- seen in the ..j-n ends 

 of the ini|M>rfect quills, or lyinir thickly aUmt them. In the case .f the vultures it is thought 

 to be given for the puqiose of keeping their skin and plumage undented by the putrid animal 

 substances on which those HIP lean and useful birds feed, but as it is found in .-.pial plenty on 

 the Cockatoos, than whom no cleaner feeding or more fastidious birds exist, it is evident that 

 it must serve some purpose that is common to these two dissimilar species. Very little 

 structure is found in this dust when placed under the microscope, but with the aid of the 

 polarizer I have made out several well-marked hexagonal IK 



The green-black hue extends over the whole of the plumage, bat around the eye is a huge 

 naked space of skin, red in color, and covered with wrinkles. The head is ornamented with a 

 large and curiously formed crest, which is composed of a number of single feathers, each being 

 long, narrow, and the web rather scanty. The color of the crest is rather grayer than 1 1P- 

 remainder of the plumage, probably on account of its less massive construction, and its free- 

 dom from the white powdery dust which has just been described. In general the crest lies 



UULUTU AKATOO-JM 



