The Black Cockatoo.



59



over, tlie gentleman who kindly made th zpost mortem examination

of the deceased wrote me that it was a male. And, regard the

case as we will, we cannot escape from the fact that the bird

passed from the one plumage to the other by a single moult.

The more I consider the pros and cons, it seems to me that my

view meets the difficulties of the case better than any other, even

regardless of my long acquaintance with the second female.—

R.P.—Nov. 8.



THE BLACK COCKATOO.



In the June number of the Avicultural Magazine, I noticed

a quotation from The Evul to the effect that the Black Cockatoo

“ had shredded the bark off the dead eucalyptus and that it was

noted that only dead trees were worked upon.” I think that the

above might convey a wrong impression as to the habits of these

birds. They certainly do attack the “ stringy bark ” in the way

shown in the photo in The Emu, but they also treat living trees

in the same manner. I may say that I have seen hundreds of

living trees, which presented the same appearance except that

the bole only of the tree was attacked. These birds are very

fond of the larvae of a large moth, the grubs, which are three or

four inches long and about one inch in diameter, eat their way

into the Wattle Trees, and the Cockatoos tear large pieces of the

bark and wood off the trees in their endeavour to obtain these

titbits ; these trees are invariably alive, I doubt whether the

Black Cockatoo even with the great power of their bills could

get one of these grubs out of a dead wattle tree.


It might interest members to know something of the

nesting habits of these birds. They build in the hole of a lofty

eucalyptus tree, generally between 80 and 150 feet from the

ground, making no nest to speak of, pulversing the rotten wood

to the depth of half an inch or so at the bottom of the hole, the

eggs being generally placed about two feet from the outlet. I

have a pair of eggs before me as I write, they were taken six

years ago in the Midlands by a shepherd, they are dull white, in

shape oval, and measure (1) rgo by 1-40 (2) 1-91 by 1-26. The



