THE GREAT BLACK PALM COCKATOO, MtCROGLOSSVS ATERRJMUS, 

 IN CAPTIVITY. 



By Dr. E. A. D'OMBRAIN, M.R.A.O U. 



I.\ July, 191;. Mr. W. R. McLennan sent me two young examples of the Great Black Palm Cockatoo 

 from the Cape York Peninsula. They reached me safely, and were to have been forwarded to Dr. 

 \Y. Macgillivrav. at Broken Hill, but the weather being very cold, ami their food requiring much 

 attention, I decided not to send them on so long a train journey. I took them to my residence at 

 Cremome, Sydney, and housed them in a warm place, keeping them in their box-cage, but nevertheless 

 found one dead on the following morning. 



Kvcn greater care was taken with the remaining bird. In addition to being kept near an oil stove 

 at night, a hot brick, wrapped in flannel, was placed in the box. This treatment carried it safely 

 through its first and second winters, but was later dispensed with as the bird became acclimatised. 



Size and Colour. — The total length, from the base of the upper mandible to the tip of the tail, is 

 22 inches ; the tail and the wing each measure 10 inches. The bill of this specimen is 3J inches long, 

 and that of the young one which died measured 3J inches ; the late Mr. A. J. North, of the Australian 

 Museum, recorded a length of 4 inches. The longest feathers of the crest measure 8J inches. 



The general colour is a glossv metallic black, with the exception of the lores and feathers about 

 the base of the mandibles, where the glossy appearance is replaced by a soft, velvety black. The 

 cheeks are quite naked and of a peculiar soft, wrinkled character, and when the bird is in good condition, 

 and warm enough, are of a bright scarlet colour. If not well, or feeling the cold, however, the cheeks 

 become purplish red. which suggests pallor or bad circulation. 



The feathers of the cheeks are capable of as much movement as those of the crest. They can be 

 thrust directly forward, or laid straight in the usual direction. When cold, or when the bird is quiet 

 or dull, these feathers are used to cover not only the naked cheeks, but also the whole of the lower and 

 part of the upper mandible, which gives the bird a very grotesque appearance, as though wrapped up. 



Before the first moult, much of the breast and lower abdomen presented a freckled appearance, 

 due to the feathers bearing rows of faint, light dots arranged in parallel lines. It is noteworthv that 

 these markings are persistent in the Funereal Cockatoo. The irides are of a dark brown or hazel hue. 

 which gives the eyes a very mild and gentle expression. 



The so-called thighs are quite bare, and slaty-blue in colour. The legs, or tarsi, are black. The 

 tongue, like all other soft parts of the gape, is scarlet, except at the tip, or about 6 millimetres of its 

 length, which is quite black. The hinder part of the dorsum of the tongue is provided w ith a bifurcated 

 prolongation which forms a sort of lid to a depression or cavity immediately below it. In my bird, 

 all the feathers are kept constantly dusted over with white powder, which gives it the appearance of 

 being slaty-grey, and detracts from the beautiful glossy black plumage. This is procured from a gland 

 over the back of the coccyx or end of the spine, and the method of its application is very interesting. 

 The head, with the crest lowered, is thrown right back until it reaches the gland. It is there covered 

 with powder by a lateral rubbing motion, which is repeated a- few times. Then the head is used as a 

 powder-puff over the rest of the body, including the under surfaces of the wing feathers. Mr. McLennan 

 tells me that the birds are found powdered like this in their native state. Most Cockatoos, such as 

 Corellas and the Sulphur-crested species, keep themselves clean by means of this powdering, but none 

 apply it in this manner. 



