PARROTS. 



353 



In New Zealand the kaka parrot (JV. meridionalis) has made itself something of a 

 nuisance. Since these islands were settled, and sheep-raising has become a prominent 

 industry, the kaka has largely forsaken its diet of fruit, vegetables, and honey, and 

 developed into a bird of prey. Whenever a sheep dies in the fields, the kakas gather 

 and devour its flesh. But they are not content with this. They are said to perch on 

 the backs of the animals when alive, and, with their strong beaks, to tear out pieces of 



h/. 



FIG. 159. Plictolophus moluccensis, rose-crested cockatoo. 



flesh for food. The ordinary note of this species is said to resemble the bark of a 

 small dog, but it is also capable of imitating other sounds, and, if properly taught, of 

 talking. 



Licmetis contains two long-billed, white species from Australia, popularly known 

 as the slender-billed and the digging cockatoo (L. nasicus and L. pastinator). As 

 the name indicates, one species digs in the earth for its food. 



The true cockatoos belong to the genus Cacatua or Plictolophus. With two 

 exceptions, the fifteen species are white. They have a short, high bill rounded or 

 VOL. iv. 23 



