THE 
BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
cupful of Eucalyptus seed ; in fact, when killed, their flesh smells strongly 
of this food. They are usually seen in pairs, but during the winter months 
they congregate in flocks. On two occasions I have seen them on the bush 
tracks in the Dandenong Ranges, picking over the droppings from the 
carters’ horses. Some of the male birds acquire the scarlet on their heads 
at a very early age. One that I kept for some time was scarlet on the head 
before it could feed itself.” 
When Gould wrote be commented : “ The paucity of information here 
given will, I trust, be a sufficient hint to those who may be favourably situated 
for observing the habits of this species. ...” Some fifty years afterward, 
when Campbell drew up his “ Nests and Eggs,” he reproduced the above, as 
so little had been done in the meanwhile. I cannot see that since the date of 
Campbell’s book much has been added, so here emphasize the plaint of Gould 
and beg that some observations be taken by field students before it is too late. 
Captain S. A. White, writing on the birds of Mallacoota, Viet., in the 
Emu, Vol. XIV., p. 138, 1915, observed: “Quite a number of these little 
Cockatoos ( C . galeatum) were met with amongst the heavily-timbered country ; 
most were immature birds in their first year’s plumage. They visited the 
deep, damp gullies where the acacias grew ; the seeds of these trees seem to 
be the principal food of the Gang-Gang at this time of the year. When 
passing through the timber country late in the afternoon, the low, growling 
notes of these birds when feeding were often heard. The immature males in 
the first year’s plumage have but a short crest, much mottled with grey ; 
wings, breast, and abdomen are barred and mottled with fight yellow ; many 
of the feathers of the abdomen are barred with pink. When dissected the 
stomachs were found to be packed with the green acacia seeds, and the birds 
smelt very strongly of this plant.” 
The systematic history of this species is short. Owing to its restricted 
range no subspecies were named until I designated the Tasmanian bird. The 
reconsideration of the species forces the conclusion that the Victorian, King 
Island and Tasmanian birds must be lumped for the present time with the 
few specimens that are available. These are readily separated from the New 
South Wales birds by the deeper coloration of the head and crest and generally 
darker coloration. 
The subspecies will be : — 
Callocorydon fimbriatus fimbriatus (Grant). Victoria ; King Island ; 
Tasmania. 
As synonyms I note Psittacus phcenicocephalus (Kuhl) and Callocorydon 
fimbriatus tasmanicum (Mathews). 
Callocorydon fimbriatus superior subsp. nov., New South Wales. 
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