COCKATOOS ON THE DARLING 51 



together. The average number in a flock is about two 

 hundred, and seldom fewer than one hundred. All these 

 breed in the belts of timber which in many places line the 

 banks of the Darling, and the aborigines, at the proper 

 season (July to September) take great numbers of the 

 young birds to sell in the townships, and it is seldom that 

 one enters the house of a colonist, in country or town, 

 without being greeted by the screams of one or more 

 cockatoos or parrots. 



It seems to be generally thought that the food of 

 cockatoos and parrots in a wild state consists entirely of 

 fruits and seeds. This is a mistake, and it is interesting, 

 in the light of the acquired habits of the kaka-parrot of 

 New Zealand, to know that nearly all the Australian 

 parrots feed largely on animal food. Cockatoos may often 

 be seen with large beetles in their claws, biting off the 

 elytra and legs previous to swallowing the bodies. They 

 eat insects of all kinds, and on several occasions I have 

 seen cockatoos robbing the nests of other parrots, and of 

 small birds. Quarrels and fights between birds of different 

 species of this family seem to have their origin in this 

 habit. I have certainly, on one or two occasions, seen 

 small parrots valiantly defending their nest-holes from the 

 attacks of cockatoos. I have also seen cockatoos pitch in 

 swarms on the carcasses of sheep and cattle which have 

 died on the plains ; but I think that this was to search for 

 the larvse which were abounding in the carrion. 



A very abundant parrot on the plains, often found at 

 a great distance from water, is the ground paroquet 

 {Geopsittacus occidentalis), which I have found scattered 

 thickly over large tracks of country. It does not, however, 

 assemble in close flocks. It is a quarrelsome bird, and 

 will chase and drive other small parrots from its feeding 

 grounds. It breeds on the ground in the midst of thick 

 tufts of herbage, does not make a regular nest, though a 

 few bents of dried grass may be arranged round the slight 

 hollow where the seven to nine eggs are laid. The 

 Australian love-bird {Melopsittacus undulatus)^ a species 

 well-known as a pet in England, is another common bird 



