THE COCKATOOS. 



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THE COCKATOOS. 



IN an exhibition where there are a thousand birds competing for attention, one 

 attracting by his gay plumage, another by his sweet song, a third by his quaint car- 

 riage and flight, the largest and evidently most delighted throng of spectators will 

 be found surrounding the cage containing the Cockatoos. These birds are dis- 

 tinguished by their compact body, short tail, and large, broad beak, with the upper 

 mandible terminating in a strong hook. The tongue is fleshy and smooth, the region 

 of the eye bare, and the head ornamented with a crest which, in the case of most 

 species, lies flat, but can be erected 

 at pleasure. 



The plumage is very striking, 

 either on account of its pure white 

 color or very delicate tints. 



The Cockatoos are found prin- 

 cipally in Australia, and also in the 

 Molucca Islands and New Guinea. 

 They congregate in enormous flocks 

 of fifteen hundred to five thousand 

 birds, and fly over the fields, pre- 

 senting, with their brilliant colors, 

 a beautiful spectacle. 



Australia is pre-eminently the 

 realm of the Cockatoos. And, in- 

 deed, it is the paradise of birds. 

 Of the many families of birds be- 

 longing to it and the adjacent islands, 

 none are more important or character- cockatoos, 



istic than the Cockatoos and Paro- 

 quets. Among the green foliage of the gum-trees Cockatoos sparkle like living 

 flowers, and the rose-colored Paroquets display their scarlet plumage among the 

 yellow-bloomed acacias. The bright- hued Lories mingle with the other birds, and 

 hover about the honey-sweet blossoms. There the Cockatoos fly about the streets 

 of the towns and villages, or infest the roofs and court-yards of the houses. When 

 the Australian farmer gathers his harvest, hundreds of these birds throng his fields 

 and farm-yards. To the traveller the spectacle is very pleasing and beautiful ; but 

 the farmer whose grains they trample and consume has sworn deep vows of hatred, 

 and slaughters the gay pilferers without pity and without remorse. 



