138 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
inhabiting chiefly heavily timbered ranges and brushes. It is not so active 
as most Parrots, and its flight is laboured. Although its call-notes are 
harsh and loud, the male at times utters a soit and musical double note. 
It feeds almost entirely on native seeds, fruits, and berries; in certain 
districts it does damage to ripening maize crops. 
Nest. — In a hollow limb or hole in a tree. 
Eggs. — Three to six, white. Breeding-season : October to December. 
7. Red-sided Parrot Lorius pectoralis P. L. S. Muller — 7 A. Female 
Lor-i-ns — N.L. from a Malay word for parrot: pec-tor-a-lis — L., 
pectoralis , breasted. 
Distribution . — Northern Queensland (eastern Cape York Peninsula, 
from the Pascoe River to Rocky River) ; also occurs in the Aru Islands 
and New Guinea. 
Notes. — This beautiful Parrot was discovered in the scrubs bordering 
the Pascoe River, where it is fairly plentiful. It feeds on nuts and seeds 
of tall scrub trees, which it visits at daybreak, returning to its roosting- 
place at night. The call-note of the male is a long throaty “Kurrrah,” 
uttered at intervals and occasionally repeated rapidly, and the call of the 
female is a screeching whistle resembling “Kluk kalert.” 
Nest . — In a large hole in a tall deciduous tree, leafed fig-tree, or 
Moreton Bay chestnut-tree, growing in the scrub, at heights up to 70 
feet from the ground. 
Eggs . — Two, white. Breeding-season: October to December. 
8. Galah Kakatoe roseicapilla Vieillot 
Kak-a-to-e — Fr., kakatoes , cockatoo: ro-se-i-cap-ill'-a — L., roseus, rosy; 
L., capillus, hair of the head. 
Distribution. — Australia, chiefly inland; accidental to Tasmania. 
Notes. — Also called Rose-breasted Cockatoo, Willie-willock, and 
Willock. Usually in pairs or flocks, frequenting open country, chiefly 
inland plains interspersed with belts of timber, or trees bordering 
watercourses. It spends much of its time on the ground feeding on the 
seeds of grasses and other plants; when disturbed it rises with loud shrill 
cries. A flock in flight presents a wonderful spectacle of colour, as the 
birds turn simultaneously exposing their rose-pink underparts. Food: 
seeds of grasses, plants, trees, bulbs, and roots ; it causes considerable 
damage to crops, but also devours immense quantities of seeds of plant 
pests. 
Nest. — In a hollow limb or hole in a tree ; lined with green leaves. 
Eggs. — Four or five, white. Breeding-season : September and 
November (eastern Australia) ; February and March (north-western 
Australia). 
