BIRDS OF TASMANIA. 91 



feathers brownish-olive'; under surface slightly browner than upper ; 

 feathers of chest and breast edgpd with brownish-olive ; abdomen 

 more or less tinged with olive ; bill black ; legs and feet brownish- 

 black. Dimensions in mm.: — Length, 590; bill, 48; wing, 375; 

 tail, 23.5; tarsus, 28. 



Female. — Similar to male. 



Young. — Ear coverts bright yellow; feathers of under surface 

 somewhat broadly marked with yellow; yellow on tail heavily 

 freckled with brown; bill whitish, tipped with black. 



Nest. — Within a hole in the trunk of a lofty tree, usually far 

 removed from civilization. 



Eggs. — Clutch two ; roundish oval in shape ; texture coarse ; sur- 

 face slightly glossy; colour white. Dimension in inches of an odd 

 example, according to Mr. A. J. Campbell: — 1.9 x 1.5. 



Breeding Season. — I can neither find any record nor hear of 

 any eggs being taken prior to the end of December. 



Geographical Distribution. — Tasmania, King and other of the 

 larger islands in Bass Strait, New South Wales, Victoria, South 

 Australia, and South Queensland. 



Observations. — Mountainous and heavily timbered tracts are 

 mostly favoured by this species, which has, perhaps, a wider dis- 

 tribution throughout the island than the White Cockatoo. It is in 

 such" regions that it can best obtain its food of insect larvae from 

 the giant eucalypt and other forest trees. 



On account of its nesting so far from the ground, and in such 

 extremely difficult positions, records of the taking of the eggs of this 

 Cockatoo are somewhat scarce. Messrs. A. B. Brent, Percy Grubb, 

 and Leo Burbury have all taken eggs at different times. An inter- 

 esting note by the first-named gentleman is given by Mr. A. J. 

 Campbell; it runs : — " For about three weeks, when the female is 

 sitting, I discovered that the male would go to the nest three times 

 a day — at morn, noon, and night — and was most regular. I would 

 find myself standing watch in hand looking for him every day for 

 several days, and found that his times never varied more than 

 seven minutes. To ascertain his reasons, I went to the nest at 

 night, and crept, without disturbing the sitting bird, to a spot 

 where I could see all that went on, and waited. After some time, 

 the old bird's cry would be heard in the distance, and at the same 

 time the female's head would appear at the hole, and she would 

 answer him with a small scream, and would repeat in answer to 

 him as he drew near. As soon as he appeared in sight she would 

 fly out and settle on a dry branch, meeting him there, and after 

 the usual greeting he would sit and feed her for fully ten minutes 

 just as if she had been a young bird. After this she would sit and 

 preen her feathers for a time, and then return to the nest, always 

 entering the hole tail first. This performance I witnessed for 

 several days." 



In some districts the Black Cockatoo is regarded as an unfailing 



