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 Cockatoo : "He is quite a gymnast too, and 

 the way in which he swings himself round and round on his perch, with expanded 

 wings and tail, is no less amusing 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 dissatisfied 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 native haunts, but their utterances do 

 not seem as harsh and grating. In this connection Mr. Greene has said : *'A 

 flock of Rosy Cockatoos playing among the branches, or seeking their food 

 among the long kangaroo-grass of some untilled plain, or disporting themselves 

 by the margin of a pond, or creek, af¥ord one of the prettiest sights it is pos- 

 sible to imagine ; their noisy outcries are not so noticeable then, but mingle rather 

 harmoniously as the altos in the great concert of nature, in which the cicadas, 

 or locusts, take the treble parts." 



While the Rose-breasted Cockatoos show a decided fondness for shade 

 during 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 unaided eye. None of the cockatoos 

 do much in the way of nest building. Their eggs, varying from two to four 

 in number, are usually laid upon the refuse which has gathered in the hollow 

 of a tree. The Cockatoo, which we illustrated, though it usually nests in the 

 hollow 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 some- 

 times flocks will do great damage while feeding in freshly planted grain fields, 

 and for this reason are greatly disliked by agriculturists of the regions they 

 frequent and are destroyed in large numbers. 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 habitation 

 and their piercing voice is frequently heard in protest. 



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