548 4 VES—COCKATOO. 
great variety of elegant and easy serpentine meanders, as if for pleasure. 
They generally roost in the hollow trunks of old sycamores, in parties of 
thirty or forty together. Here they cling fast to the sides of the tree, hold- 
ing by their claws and bills. They appear to be fond of sleep, and often 
retire to their holes during the day, probably to take their regular siesta. 
They are extremely social and friendly towards each other. 
They build in companies in hollow trees. This bird is thirteen inches 
long; the forehead and cheeks are orange red; down and round the neck a 
rich and pure yellow; the shoulder and bend of the wings also edged with 
rich orangered. The general color of the rest of the plumage is a tright 
yellowish silky green, with light blue reflections. It is altogether supe- 
rior in elegance of figure, and beauty of plumage, to many of the foreign 
parrots. It is docile and sociable, and soon becomes perfectly familiar, but 
cannot be taught to speak. These birds are rapidly diminishing. Accord- 
ing to Mr Audubon, very few of them are to be found north of Cincinnati 
and there are not, at present, half the number along the Mississippi, that 
existed there fifteen years ago. 
THE COCKATOO! 
Is distinguished from the parrot, by its head being adorned with a crest or 
long feathers, which is capable of being erected and lowered at will, and 
gives the bird a strikingly fine appearance. It isa native of the Molucca 
Islands, and other parts of the East Indies, where it is frequently known to 
build on the tops of houses. Like the rest of the parrot kind, it is capable 
of uttering sea phrases and sentences, with equal propriety of tone and 
volubility. It derives its name from its frequent repetition of the syllables 
cock-a-too. It delights in damp and marshy situations, and usually dwells 
near rivers or brooks, where it indulges in frequent bathing. In bathing, 
indeed, it feels a particular pleasure, even when a captive. Vegetable sub-~ 
! Psittacus cristatus, Lin. 
