258 
BY NIGHT AND DAT. 
woods, says Mitchell, the white cocka ^ 
toos fly to and fro like phantoms ; ^ 
others, with scarlet wings and fire-red ^ 
crest, seem the fantastic creatures of a dream. 
They pass the night among the leafy shades 
of the tallest trees; and at the first glimpse 
of day fill the groves and glades with their 
piercing cries. Their food consists in the main 
of fruits, seed, grain ; but they eat also mush- 
rooms, small tubercular roots, and bulbs, which 
they dig out of the ground with their beaks. 
The ravages they commit in the ncAvly-sown 
fields, and in the maize plantations when the 
crops are ripe, almost justify the antipathy with 
which they are regarded by the agriculturist. 
And then it must be remembered that they 
are at work all day long, except for a short interval of noontide 
rest. They are always active, always on the watch ; whoever or what- 
