THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Mr. Tom Carter’s notes are here given : “ Licmetis pastinator. Aboriginal 
names in the south-west, Mannich, Mennich. This fine species former^ 
abounded in the south-west of Australia, from Geraldton on the north to 
the Southern Ocean, but owing to their very destructive habits to the wheat 
crops — which comprised eating the newly-sown seed, pulling up the young 
plants to eat the grain at their roots, pulling down and trampling flat the 
ripening crops, and eating the ripe wheat from the tops of the stooks — the 
struggling settlers and pioneers systematically poisoned them wholesale with 
poisoned corn, and shot them to such an extent that one may now travel for 
hundreds of miles through districts where they previously occurred in countless 
numbers and never see a single specimen. North of the Swan River there 
are still one or two localities where considerable numbers breed, but south 
of that, I believe, there is only one locality where a few hundreds still pay 
periodical visits and breed. The Cockatoos appear to go there about March, 
•when wheat crops are usually sown, then go away somewhere, and return for a 
short time about June, when the winter rains have usually set in. The breeding 
season commences in September and the young birds hatch out about 
mid-October, and a month later leave the nest. Apparently they remain in 
the nesting cavity until strong on the wing, as I was told by settlers that on 
several occasions, when a tree was being felled in order to obtain young birds 
known to be in the nests, the young birds emerged just as the tree was falling 
and flew away to a considerable distance, being quite capable of taking care 
of themselves. Red gum trees appear to be chosen as nesting sites in preference 
to jarrah trees, and yet all the south-west forests are mostly composed of 
these two varieties of timber mingled together. The nesting cavities are 
usually at a considerable height from the ground, and thirty feet was the 
lowest site noted by me, and that was unusual. The birds feed largely on 
bulbs and roots of various plants growing on the open sand-plain country, 
and while digging up these with their long upper mandibles, the cockatoos 
get all their under plumage much discoloured and stained with earth and mud, 
their very short tarsi contributing to this soiling of the feathers. They are 
very wary in their habits (probably from long persecution) and always post 
sentinels on lofty trees. They are also very early risers and are on the wing 
at the earliest dawn, uttering characteristic notes which much resemble those 
of Gac. sanguined. The male birds are larger than the females, according to 
the following averages obtained from fifteen birds : — 
Sex. 
Length 
Wing. 
Tail. 
Bill. 
Tarsus In inches, 
Male 
18-4 
12-6 
6-8 
1-98 
•98 
Female . 
18-2 
12-2 
6*6 
1*8 
1*00 
“ Average weight from eight birds 1 lb. 10 oz. 
220 
