538 THE GOLIATH ARATOO 



It is a rather scarce bird, but deserves notice on account of its very small dimensions, 

 and its beautiful plumage. Like others of its kind, it is very fond of society, and unless 

 furnished with a companion is very apt to droop, refuse nourishment, and die. Its habits 

 in a wild state are not precisely known, as it is a bird of rare occurrence, and not easily 

 to be watched. 



The head of this species is light grass-green ; round the back of the neck runs a black 

 collar, and the chest, together with a band round the neck, just below the black collar, is 

 yellow with a greenish cast. The general colour of the body is the same grass-green as 

 that of the head, except the upper tail-coverts, which are deep rich azure. The short and 

 rounded tail is beautifully and richly coloured, the two central feathers being green, and 

 the others bright scarlet for the first half of their length, then banded with a warm bar of 

 black, and the tips green. The bill is black, and of a stronger make than is usually the 

 case with the Love-birds. The legs and feet are greyish black. 



THE Cockatoos are very familiar birds, as several species are common inhabitants of 

 our aviaries, where they create much amusement by their grotesque movements, their 

 exceeding love of approbation, and their repeated mention of their own name. Wherever 

 two or three of these birds are found in the same apartment, however silent they may be 

 when left alone, the presence of a visitor excites them to immediate conversation, and the 

 air resounds with " Cockatoo ! " " Pretty Cocky ! " in all directions, diversified with an 

 occasional yell, if the utterer be not immediately noticed. 



They are confined to the Eastern Archipelago and Australia, in which latter country a 

 considerable number of large and splendid species are found. The nesting-place of the 

 Cockatoos is always in the holes of decaying trees, and by means of their very powerful 

 beaks, they tear away the wood until they have augered the hollow to their liking. Their 

 food consists almost wholly of fruit and seeds, and they are often very great pests to 

 the agriculturist, settling in large flocks upon the fields of maize and corn, and devouring 

 the ripened ears or disinterring the newly sown seeds with hearty goodwill. The wrath 

 of the farmer is naturally aroused by these frequent raids, and the Cockatoos perish 

 annually in great numbers from the constant persecution to which they are subjected, 

 their nests being destroyed, and themselves shot and trapped. 



To those, however, who own no land, and are anxious about no crops, a flock of 

 Cockatoos is a most beautiful and welcome sight, as they flit among the heavy-leaved 

 trees of the Australian forest, their pinky-white plumage relieved against the dark masses 

 of umbrageous shade, as they appear and vanish among the branches like the bright 

 visions of a dream. 



THE first of the Cockatoos which will be noticed in these pages is the GOLIATH 

 ARATOO, a striking and very remarkable bird. 



The generic name " microglossum " which is given to this creature is of Greek origin, 

 and signifies " little-tongue," that member being very curiously formed. In the generality 

 of the Parrot tribe the tongue is thick and fleshy, but in the Aratoo it is long, tubular, 

 and extensile. The powerful bill is also of a rather unusual form, the upper mandible 

 being very large, sharply curved, and having its cutting edges two-toothed, while the lower 

 mandible is comparatively small, and only furnished with a single tooth. 



It is a native of New Guinea and the neighbouring islands, and is not a very common 

 bird, although specimens may be found in several museums. The peculiar formation of 

 the tongue and beak would lead the observer to suppose that its habits must be different 

 from those of ordinary Cockatoos ; but as little or nothing is known of its mode of life 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 

 cases exceeding that of the great macaws, although the absence of the long tail renders it 

 a less conspicuous bird. The general colour of this species is deep black with a greenish 

 gloss, caused chiefly by the large amount of whitish powder which is secreted in certain 

 imperfect quills, and thence scattered among the feathers, giving them a kind of "bloom," 

 like that of the plum or grape. 



