THE HELMET COCKATOO. 
403 
While on the ground its mode of progression is not the ungainly waddle generally 
employed by the Parrot tribe, but is accomplished by hopping something after the fashion 
of the rooks, the wings aiding in each hop. One species of this genus has been known to 
imitate the human voice with much accuracy. This is the Southern Nestor, or the Kaka of 
the natives (. Nestor Tiypopolius). The voice of the Long-billed Parrot is harsh, loud, and very 
disagreeable, and is said to resemble the continual barking of a hoarse -voiced, ill-tempered 
cur. While ranging among the trees, these birds fill the w r oods with their dissonant, quacking 
barks. The eggs of this species are white, and, as is generally the case with the Parrots, are 
laid in the hollow of a decaying tree. 
The birds which belong to the genus Nestor may at once be known by their extraordinarily 
long upper mandibles, which curve far over the lower, and remind the observer of the over- 
grown tooth so common in the rat, rabbit, and other rodent animals. This remarkable struc- 
ture is very probably for the purpose of enabling the bird to scoop roots and other vegetable 
substances out of the earth. The length, curve, and shape of the upper mandible differ in the 
various species. Another peculiarity is that the tips of the tail-feathers are partially denuded 
of their webs, leaving the shaft to project slightly beyond the feathered portion. Some persons 
suppose the Long-billed Parrots to form a link between the Parrots and the Cockatoos. 
Neither of these birds are remarkable for brilliancy of plumage, the prevailing tints being 
brown and gray, with a little red and yellow here and there. The Philip’s Island Parrot is 
dark brown on the upper sur- 
face of the body, but takes a 
grayish hue on the head and 
back of the neck. Each feather 
of the upper surface is edged 
with a deeper tinge, so that the 
otherwise uniform gray and 
brown is agreeably mottled. 
The cheeks, throat, and breast 
are yellow, warming into 
orange on the face. The inner 
surface of the shoulders is 
olive-yellow, and the abdomen 
and both tail-coverts are deep 
orange-red. The tail is mod- 
erately long, and squared at 
the extremity. The feathers 
are crossed at their base by 
bands of orange-yellow and 
brown, and the under surfaces 
of the inner webs are brown, 
mingled with dusky red. The 
feet are dark blackish brown, 
and the long bill is uniformly 
of a brownish tint. The total 
length of the adult bird is 
about fifteen inches. 
HELMET COCKATOO. — CdlyptorrhyncJncs galeatus. 
The Helmet Cockatoo 
is a good representative of a 
very curious genus of Cocka- 
toos resident in Australia. 
The plumage of these birds, instead of being white or roseate as in the two previous 
Cockatoos, is always of a dark color, and frequently dyed with the richest hues. About six 
species belong to this genus, and they all seem to be wild and fierce birds, capable of using 
