186 



ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 



greater elevation and comparative shortness of its bill, 

 the increased dilatation of its lower mandible, and 

 several other characters of inferior moment. In the 

 latter group the ground colour of nearly all the species 

 is black, while in the Common Cockatoos it is almost 

 uniformly white. 



The species of this genus naturally arrange them- 

 selves in two subdivisions, in the one of which the crest 

 assumes a rounded form and falls backwards over the 

 neck, while in the other it is lengthened into a point, 

 folded together, and curved upwards. The Rose-crested 

 species belongs to the first subdivision. Its length is 

 sixteen or eighteen inches ; and its plumage white with 

 an occasional tinge of rose. The crest is formed of 

 feathers for the most part of a bright orange-red be- 

 neath, and the inferior wing and tail-coverts have a 

 shade of yellow. The bill is bluish-black, and the legs 

 are of a leaden gray. 



The Rose-crested Cockatoo is a native of Sumatra 

 and the Moluccas. It is said to be less intelligent than 

 the rest of the group, and is particularly fond of making 

 a noise and assuming a variety of antic postures. 



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