PARROTS. 47 



THE LEMON-CRESTED COCKATOO. 



The Lemon-Crested Cockatoo ( Cacatua galerita) is known by its white colour (which in some 

 specimens presents the appearance of having had a delicate red breathed upon it), and by its perfectly 

 shaped tuft, formed of two rows of long and slender feathers, that can be raised or lowered at 

 pleasure. This long tuft or crest, the wings, and the inner web of the tail-feathers are of a pale 

 brimstone colour at the root. The eye is deep brown, the beak black, and the foot greyish brown. 

 The length of this species is about one foot four inches. 



We are at present uncertain whether this bird is spread over Van Diemen's Land, as well as over 

 the whole of Australia and New Holland, or whether those countries are inhabited by different species 

 of very similar plumage. A careful examination of the Cockatoos most abounding in those three 

 regions has shown a decided difference in the construction of the beak, and justifies the last-mentioned 

 opinion. According to Gould, the Lemon-crested Cockatoo is common to all the Australian settle- 

 ments except those to the west. These birds live in flocks of hundreds and thousands, much 

 preferring open plains, or slightly wooded districts, to the forests near the coast. 



LEADBEATER'S COCKATOO. 



The Inca, or Leadbeater's Cockatoo {Cacatua Leadbeateri), another species found on the 

 continent of Australia, differs from the bird we have just described in the arrangement of its colours. 

 Its plumage is white, but the forehead, sides of the neck, the middle and under surface of the 

 wings, are of a beautiful rose tint. The crest is magnificent; the individual feathers of which 

 it is composed are bright red at the root, spotted with yellow in the middle, and tipped with 

 white. When this plume is laid back, nothing but the white tips can be seen, but it is no sooner 

 raised than the blazing red appears, and the yellow spots unite themselves into a stripe that renders 

 its appearance still more striking. The spaces around the eyes are light brown ; the beak light 

 horn colour ; the foot dark brown. The female is somewhat paler on the lower part of the 

 body, and has large yellow spots upon the crest. 



Gould tells us that these splendid birds are spread over the whole of South Australia, living 

 principally upon the high gum-trees and brushwood near the rivers of the interior. They are 

 found principally near the Darling and Murray rivers, and do not extend as far as the north- 

 western coast. During the breeding season they appear in great numbers in certain localities, 

 and animate the otherwise monotonous forests of the interior. The voice of the Inca cockatoo is 

 more plaintive than that of its congeners, and its scream not so harsh. 



THE HELMET COCKATCO. 



The Helmet Cockatoo {Catticephalus galeatus) also deserves notice as being the type 

 of a tribe that forms the connecting link between the True Cockatoos and the Geringeroes 

 or Raven Cockatoos of New Holland. This bird is known by its short vaulted beak, which 

 has a slightly projecting hook on the upper mandible, and by its tolerably strong and rounded 

 tail. The plumage is beautiful and richly marked ; the upper part of the body is a dark 

 slate blue, the forehead, cheeks, and crest scarlet ; all the feathers, except the primary and 

 secondary quills and the tail-feathers, are slender, and edged with whitish grey more deeply on 

 the upper than on the under part of the body. The female is darker, and almost of a slate 

 colour, the upper surface of the neck and back sprinkled with pale grey, and the rest of the body 

 marked with irregular greyish white stripes. The feathers on the under parts of the body are 



