78 AUSTRALIA AND THE AUSTRALIANS. 



season, and bringing away the young. They are 

 capital speakers. Very amusing stories are told of 

 some of them in this respect. 



A young man was trying to get near a flock for a 

 shot They were very shy, and kept moving on and 

 on, just keeping out of range. One seemed more bold 

 and careless than the rest, so he thought he would 

 give attention to that one, and using a good deal of 

 caution he at last got close enough and raised his gun 

 to shoot, when the bird said, " Won't grandmother 

 give it to you .when you get home ? " He lowered his 

 gun and walked straight away, having no more heart 

 in him for shooting cockatoos. The bird had doubt- 

 less escaped after a year or two of domestication. We 

 saw many of them in the large cages at the public 

 gardens, some of them speaking very distinctly. The 

 most common expression we heard from them was, 

 " Cocky wants a bit of bread." No child could say 

 this any better. 



The most beautiful of the cockatoo species is the 

 corella, or, as he is called by some, " Leadbeater's 

 cockatoo." This is also white with pink-tipped wings, 

 but is smaller than the yellow-crested. Its crest 

 is mottled pink and white. When standing at ease, 

 the crest is laid back upon the neck so closely that at 

 a little distance you would scarcely notice it. The 



