BANKSIAN COCKATOO. 
In the Suppl. Gen. Synops. Birds, 1787 (pref. dated May 1), p. 63, he 
described the Bankian Cockatoo, figuring it on PI. CIX. : “ Size of the Red 
and Blue Maccaw ; length twenty-two inches. Bill very large, of a horn- 
colour, with a black tip ; general colour of the plumage black ; the feathers 
of the head pretty long, but in a quiescent state lie flat on the head : on each, 
just at the tip, is a spot of pale buff-colour ; the wing-coverts are also 
marked in the same manner near the tips ; the feathers of the upper part 
of the breast and vent are margined with buff ; the lower part of the breast 
and the belly barred with darker and lighter buff-colour ; the tail is pretty 
long and a little rounded at the end ; the two middle feathers are black ; the 
others the same at the base and ends : the middle of them, for about one 
third, of a fine deep crimson, inclining to orange, crossed with five or six bars 
of black, about one third of an inch in breadth, and somewhat irregular, 
especially the outer ones, in which the bars are broken and mottled; legs 
black. 
“ Inhabits New Holland. In the collection of Sir Joseph Banks, who 
brought it with him from thence into England, on his return from his voyage 
round the world. It most certainly differs from the Ceylonese Black Cockatoo ; 
but is probably the same with that mentioned by Mr. Parkinson, in his 
voyage (p. 144).” 
Mr. Parkinson was the artist employed by Sir Joseph Banks to paint 
natural history specimens, and of course his note applied to the very specimen 
described by Latham ex Sir Joseph Banks’ collection. This is proved by 
an examination of the drawings made by Parkinson for Sir Joseph Banks 
which are now in the British Museum. Plate No. 10 shows an unfinished 
pencil drawing with “ Lath. 260, n. 66 ” in Latham’s handwriting. On the 
back of the drawing in Banks’ handwriting is a note : “ The whole bird black, 
spots on the head and on the shoulders dirty white, the breast feathers 
wav’d wt. pale brown, the outer feathers of the tail scarlet and yellow 
wt. narrow facia of black, the iris dark brown, the pupil black, the beak 
dirty white with the point of the upper-mandible dark grey.” 
It is possible that Latham’s description was based upon this picture. 
When Sharpe drew up his account of the Parkinson drawings (Hist. Coll. Nat. 
Hist. B. M., Vol. II., 1906) he reproduced the above (p. 174) without 
commenting upon this probability. 
When Latham latinised his description, introducing the Latin name 
Psittacus banksii ( Index Ornith., Vol. I., p. 107, 1790) he added a var. /3, giving 
a Latin description with no reference, and then a var. y for the bird figured 
by “ Phyll. Bot. Bay, t. 166.” The last named is a different species as will 
hereafter be shown, while the var. 0 is of a female or immature of the present 
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