THE ROSE-BREASTED COCKATOO 



{Psiitacus roseicapillus. ) 



The Rose-breasted Cockatoos are na- 

 tives of Australia and frequent the lar- 

 ger portion of that continent. They are 

 gregarious birds though the flocks are 

 never very large. It is said that they dis- 

 like the strong and hot rays of the sun 

 and during clear days frequent the tops 

 of trees where they are shaded by the 

 foliage. They are very careful of their 

 plumage, when in the wild state, and 

 spend much time in preening their 

 feathers. Their habits are exceedingly 

 interesting as they are graceful in their 

 motions and playful. Dr. W. T. Greene 

 says regarding the habits of this Cock- 

 atoo: ''He is quite a gymnast too, and 

 the way in which he swings himself 

 round and round on his perch, with ex- 

 panded wings and tail, is no less amus- 

 ing than interesting. The love-making 

 again of a pair is a sight to be seen. 

 What a series of bows and capers, what 

 tender, self-contained warbling! To 

 hear him 'coo' to his lady-love, you 

 would never suppose him to be the pink 

 fiend, whose piercing shrieks but just 

 now drove you from his presence with 

 your fingers in your ears." When dis- 

 satisfied or hungry these Cockatoos are 

 very noisy, but when in a satisfied mood 

 their notes are much more quiet and less 

 unpleasant. 



While the notes of Mr. Greene apply 

 more particularly to these birds when in 

 captivity they are also noisy in their na- 

 tive haunts, but their utterances do not 

 seem as harsh and grating. In this con- 

 nection Mr. Greene has said: "A flock 

 of Rosy Cockatoos playing among the 

 branches, or seeking their food among 

 the long kangaroo-grass of some un- 

 tilled plain, or disporting themselves by 

 the margin of a pond, or creek, aflford 

 one of the prettiest sights it is possible 

 to imagine ; their noisy outcries are not 

 so "noticeable then, but mingle rather har- 



moniously as the altos in the great con- 

 cert of nature, in which the cicadas, or 

 locusts, take the treble parts." 



While the Rose-breasted Cockatoos 

 show a decided fondness for shade dur- 

 ing the period of midday heat, some of 

 the other cockatoo species will ascend in 

 large flocks to such heights, even though 

 the heat of a tropical noon is very great, 

 that they are hardly visible to the un- 

 aided eye. None of the cockatoos do 

 much in the way of nest building. Their 

 eggs, varying from two to four in num- 

 ber, are usually laid upon the refuse 

 which has gathered in the hollow of a 

 tree. The Cockatoo, which we illus- 

 trated, though it usually nests in the hol- 

 low branches of the gum trees ,of the 

 forests in the area which the birds of 

 this species inhabit, is said also to nest 

 at times in the hollows of rocky ledges. 

 Two or three white eggs are laid which 

 are hatched in about twenty-one days. 



The food of these Cockatoos, and also 

 of related species, consists of fruits, 

 seeds, larvae and adult insects. As they 

 are gregarious, it is said that sometimes 

 flocks will do great damage while feed- 

 ing in freshly planted grain fields, and 

 for this reason are greatly disliked by 

 agriculturists of the regions they fre- 

 quent, and are destroyed in large num-, 

 bers. This may be done easily, for they 

 are neither shy nor watchful birds. 



The elegant and brightly colored 

 plumage and the graceful movements of 

 the Rose-breasted Cockatoos would 

 make them very desirable pets were it 

 not for their loud and discordant notes 

 or, perhaps more properly, screams. 

 They are also much more noisy than 

 some of the other species. While they 

 are easily tamed when young, a cage 

 never seems to become a pleasing habi- 

 tat for them and their piercing voice is 

 frequently heard in protest. 



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