396 THE GOLIATH ARATOO. 



black. When the bird is angry, it raises these feathers like a crest. The plumage of the body 

 both above and below is rich green. The tail-feathers are beautifully marked with green, 

 yellow, and red, and the primary feathers of the wings are tinged with green of various quali- 

 ties, azure, deep brownish red and black. 



LOVE-BIRDS AND COCKATOOS. 



The Love-birds derive their name from the great fondness which they display for others 

 of their own species, and the manner in which they always sit close to each other while 

 perched, each trying to snuggle as closely as possible among the soft feathers of its neighbor. 

 They are aU little birds, and among the smallest of these is the Swindern's Love-bied, 

 which measures barely six inches in length. 



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 jjrecisely 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 color 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 colored, 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 grayish-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 sj)lendid species are found. The nesting jjlace of the Cocka- 

 toos is always in the holes of decaying trees, and by means of their very powerful beaks, they 

 tear away the wood imtil they have angered 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 good-will. The wrath of the famier is naturally 

 aroused by these frequent raids, and the Cockatoos peiisli 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 Aus- 

 tralian 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 lie noticed in these pages is the Goliath Aratoo, a 

 striking and very remarkable V)ii'd. 



The genej-ic name, " microglossum," which is given to this creature, is of Greek origin, 

 and signilies "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 

 <^xtensile. The powerful bill is also of a rather unusual form, the upper mandible being very 



