260 The Bird 
forming a slender tube. The glory of the Great Crowned 
Pigeon is a maze of lavender lacework,—one of the most 
beautiful of all crests; while the most graceful, perhaps, 
is the mist of filmy whiteness which, at the slightest breath 
of air, floats about the neck of the Snowy Egret, like 
the mantilla of a senorita. Cockatoos are decorated 
with a profusion of beautiful crests, each characteristic. 
These are under the complete control of the birds, and 
take an important part in expressing changing moods 
and emotions. The crests may lie so flat as to be ordi- 
narily invisible, when, in a flash, the whole head is sur- 
mounted by an auriole of colour or whiteness. An ex- 
cited Leadbeater Cockatoo is a wonderful sight. Before 
the crest is raised, all that is visible is a single, rather 
elongated white feather, but a wealth of colour is hid- 
den, which flares out, showing a band of scarlet close to 
the head, next a streak of bright yellow, then a second 
band of red, and finally the white tips of the crest feathers. 
The nod or jerk of the head in spreading wide the crest 
reminds one of the sudden flick with which a fan is thrown 
open. 
Concealed crests bring to mind the Kingbird and the 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, both of which derive their names 
from their crowns of ruby. It is said that the former 
bird is aided in its search for food by the bright spot 
of colour which, flower-like when exposed, attracts in- 
sects. This, however, should be confirmed before being 
accepted as a fact; although in a tropical flycatcher, 
which has a beautiful red and purple transverse crest, the 
evidence of this novel use seems fairly well corroborated. 
