COCKATOOS. 359 
they have enlarged the hollow to their liking. Their food consists almost 
wholly of fruits and seeds, and they are often very great pests to the 
agriculturist, settling in large flocks upon the fields of maize and corn, and 
devouring the ripened ears or disinterring the newly-sown seeds with hearty 
good-will. The wrath of the farmer is naturally aroused by these frequent 
raids, and the Cockatoos perish annually in great numbers from the constant 
persecution to which they are subjected, their nests being destroyed, and 
themselves shot and trapped. 
To those, however, who own no land and are anxious about no crops, a 
flock of Cockatoos is a most beautiful and welcome sight, as they flit among 
the heavy-leaved trees of the Australian forest, their pinky-white plumage 
relieved against the dark masses of umbrageous shade, as they appear and 
vanish among the branches like the bright visions of a dream. 
THE remarkably handsome bird which is represented on the opposite page 
is a native of Australia. Itis called by several names, such as the TRICOLOR 
CRESTED COCKATOO, and the PINK COCKATOO, by which latter name it is 
known to the colonists. The title of LEADBEATER’S COCKATOO was given to 
the bird in honour of the well-known naturalist, who possessed the first speci- 
men brought to England. 
It is not so noisy as the common species, and may possibly prove a 
favourite inhabitant of our aviaries, its soft blush-white plumage and 
splendid crest well meriting the attention of bird-fanciers. The crest is 
remarkable for its great development, and for the manner in which the bird 
can raise it like a fan over its head, or depress it upon the back of its neck 
at will. In either case it has a very fine effect, and especially so when it is 
elevated, and the bird is excited with anger or pleasure. 
The general colour of this bird is white, with a slight pinkish flush. 
Round the base of the beak runs a very narrow crimson line, and the feathers 
of the crest are long and pointed, each feather being crimson at the base, then 
broadly barred with golden yellow, then with crimson. and the remainder is 
white. The neck, breast, flanks, and under-tail coverts are deeply stained 
with crimson, and the under surface of the wing is deep crimson-red. The 
beak is pale greyish white, the eyes brown, and the feet and legs dark grey, 
each scale being edged with a lighter tint. In size it is rather superior to the 
common white Cockatoo. 
THE species of Cockatoo which is most common in England is the 
SULPHUR-CRESTED COCKATOO, a representation of which will be found on 
page 357, 
This bird is an inhabitant of different parts of Australia, and is especially 
common in Van Diemen’s Land, where it may be found in flocks of a 
thousand in number. Owing to the ease with which it is obtained, it is 
frequently brought to England and is held in much estimation as a pet. 
The colour of this species is white, with the exception of the crest, which is 
of a bright sulphur-yellow, and the under surface of the wings and the basal 
portions of the inner webs of the tail-feathers, which are of the same colour, 
but much paler in hue. The total length of this species is about eighteen inches. 
WE now take our leave of the Parrots, and come to a very interesting 
family of scansorial birds, known popularly as WOODPECKERS ; and scien- 
jifically as Picidze. 
As is well known, the name of Woodpecker is given to these birds from their 
habit of pecking among the decaying wood of trees in order to feed upon the 
insects that are found within. They also chip away the wond for the purpose 
of making the holes or tunnels wherein their eggs are deposited. In order to 
enable them to perform these duties, the structure of the Woodpecker is very 
curiously modified. The feet are extremely powerful, and the claws are 
