238 
Tlic Corkaiccl. 
Though only a coiumoii ]nn\ tlie Cockateel is a handsome 
fellow, and if a j^ood pnrt of his garment is com])osed of soher 
grey, the whole colour plan of his plumage is so contrasty as to 
be both striking and pleasing, and his most pronounced 
detractor could ne\ er dub liiin a sombre lined bird- The female 
is no less pleasing though not so brilliant a bird as her mate. 
Usually they live together on very af?ectionate terms with each 
other, are active and alert, and their general den'.eanour in the 
aviary is interesting and jdeasing. 
Canary and white millet seeds with a few oats, and green- 
food meet its simple needs; when they are feeding young I 
always keep a saucer of broken biscuits in the aviary, but these 
are not usi'ally largely partaken, still, if there's a large family, 
it makes the parents' task of rearing them a little less arduous. 
1 have had a good few pairs of this species in the course 
of my a vi cultural experience, and have reared a good few young 
ones, for I rather like them, and if cleared out to make room for 
rarer sjiecies, their absence is usua'ly only a temporary one. 
Possibly some cause for the failure to breed successfully 
is their disatisfaction with the nest provided. The Parrot tribe 
like plenty of room in their nest and the nest should be of good 
size , especially in depth, that is length from front to back. It 
is a good plan to take out the front of any small barrel yen 
intend using and add a sort of entrance [)assage. thus making 
it of dcuble depth. A box would do, but towards the back the 
bottom of same nuist be concave. 
The Cockateel is a native of Australia, where it nests in 
holes in the branches of trees, usually having two broods a 
year, l)nt in the aviary its fecundity is much greater. A very 
handsome log-nest can be made by getting a piece of a tree 
trunk aliout 15 inches in diameter and 2 feet long; bore a u inch 
hcle light through it, block up the two ends, boring a J inch 
hole in one of them near the top, and hang it up, leaving the 
birds to do the rest. The bark should be left on the piece of 
trunk and wood with bark on should be used for stopping u]) 
the ends. 
