THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
last August, we saw them in the hazel gullies, and they are very expert in 
being able to locate the grubs that infest this timber, as they get to them at 
once, and the great holes made by their very powerful bills are at heights 
varying from one to fifteen feet high in the hazel. The flight is slow and 
laboured, as if they flew with difficulty, and as they alight on a bough the 
crest is erected and stands thus for quite a minute, then gently subsides. In 
August, 1907, we saw an old pair and with them one that appeared to be their 
offspring of the previous season. They flock in the winter and early spring.” 
Mr. E. J. Christian and Mr. J. W. Mellor have also sent notes which 
cover exactly the same ground as the preceding, so that the life-history of 
the bird, as far as my notes go, is contained in the preceding. Mr. Christian, 
however, notes that it “ does good work, but it damages and kills trees in 
its hunting for food. It clears many trees of the larvae of destructive beetles, 
and will do the orchardist more good than harm.” Mr. Mellor observes: 
“ For this useful work the black Cockatoos are now totally protected in 
South Australia. The bird is very wary as a rule, and will sail off at the 
slightest noise ; but at times, when no shooting is done on the place, they 
become tame. The breeding months are generally in the spring, but in the 
back country, where drought is often felt, they wait until the rain comes 
before they start to lay and breed.” 
Miss J. A. Fletcher notes {Emu, Vol, III., p. 109, 1903) : “ At frequent 
times throughout the year the Black Cockatoos ( Galyptorhynckus funereus) 
are about in flocks of from eight to twenty. They do not appear to nest in 
this more open locality (Wilmot, Tas.), but evidently in the ranges to the 
south and west of us. They are noisy birds, and work most vigorously at the 
stringy bark trees after the white grubs of which they are so fond. The birds 
tear the bark down and leave it hanging in strips, and the trees present a most 
curious appearance. What powerful beaks these birds have ! The grinding 
noise they make can be heard for a considerable distance.” 
A. G. Campbell, dealing with Kangaroo Island avian forms, wrote 
{Emu, Vol. V., p. 145, 1906) : “ Calyptorhynchus xanthonotus were in flocks 
of 20 to 50 some distance back from the coast, feeding upon the black- winged 
seeds of Bahexi bushes, the strong pods of which they have no difficulty in 
cracking. This species in life is very handsome. There is a delicate pink- 
coloured naked membrane encircling the eyelids which greatly enhances its 
appearance. Salvadori in “ Genera Avium,” gives 13 to 14 inches as 
typical wing measurements of this species, and 15 to 16 in. for C. funereus. 
Two specimens from Kangaroo Island measure 15 in. and 15*5 in.” 
Here is a matter of comparison of measurements made by different 
workers, to which I shall refer later in the present article. 
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