THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Temminck proposed as new species Psittacus cookii and Psittacus solandri. 
Kuhl, admitting Psittacus funereus as a valid species, introduced Psittacus 
temminkii and Psittacus leachii , also recognising Psittacus banksii as distinct. 
A beautiful figure of P. leachii was given by Kuhl, and the Linnean Society’s 
Collection is first mentioned. Consequently the type may be presumed to 
be the largest of the two specimens upon which Temminck based his 
P. cookii, and as that is a fully adult male of the present species both names 
become synonyms of the present species. The other two new names will be 
discussed later. 
When Vigors and Horsfield dealt with the Australian Birds in the 
Linnean Society’s Collection, they seem to have been as puzzled as their 
predecessors, and on p. 271 they admitted Psittacus banksii Latham as the 
first member of their genus Calyptorhynchus, citing as synonyms Psittacus 
magnificus Shaw, and the Banksian Cockatoo of Phillips and White, of 
which more later. They gave Caley’s note : “ The native name of these 
birds is Geringora. I have met with them in various parts of the country. 
In the north rocks, a few miles to the northward of Parramatta, I have 
frequently seen them, but never many together. The natives tell me it breeds 
in the winter in Mun! ning-trees, or Blood-trees of the colonists (a species of 
Eucalyptus). It makes no other nest than of the vegetable mould formed 
by the decay of the tree. It cuts off the small branches of the Oak-trees 
(a species of Casuarina), but makes no Co’tora. It has three young ones, 
but of the eggs I could obtain no information.” 
They then admitted C. cookii as of Temminck, citing Kuhl’s name as 
a synonym. They gave their reason on the basis of right, proving absolutely 
from their own wording they were wrong. They otherwise gave a long note : 
“ The colour of the bill of the two specimens of this bird in the Society’s 
Collection is a deep and decided black. M. Temminck, in his Paper on these 
birds in a former volume of these Transactions, says that the bill is of a lead 
colour — ‘ couleur de plomb.’ ” We know not how to reconcile this difference: 
but we mention the point more particularly, as the colour of the bill appears 
to us, judging at least from the specimens before us, to offer a strong mark 
of distinction between this bird and the next, the existence of which as a 
separate species has been much doubted. The specimens in our museum 
were not among the birds originally collected by Mr. Caley. In that 
gentleman’s Notes, however, we find the following observations, which we 
make no doubt apply to this species : “ The natives tell me of another kind 
of Cockatoo (besides Wyla and Geringora) which they call Carat\ It is very 
shy. It scrapes dirt out of the hollow boughs, and males its nest as the 
others do. It lays two eggs, the colours of which I did not ascertain. The 
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