COCKATOO-PARROT. 
hoary-grey on the outer webs and yellowish-white mottlings, blotches or bars on 
the inner webs these also occur on the outer secondaries, tips of the latter brown 
like the inner webs ; lower back, rump, upper tail-coverts, and middle tail-feathers 
greyish-brown speckled with white, the lateral feathers rather darker, and the two 
outermost pairs, on each side, lemon-yellow mottled and barred with dark brown ; 
crown of head, crest, sides of face, and chin yellowish-grey ; ear-coverts dull 
orange ; axillaries like the sides of the body ; under wing-coverts and quill-lining 
pale brown with white or yellowish white markings ; lower aspect of tail dark 
brown with obsolete pale markings, the two outer pairs straw-yellow with dark 
brown bars and mottlings. Wing, 168 mm. Figured. Collected at Fulham, 
South Australia, in July 1910. 
Immature. Resemble the female. 
Nest. A hole in a tree. 
Eggs. Clutch, four or five to seven. White. 25 to 27 mm. by 17 to 21. 
Breeding season. August to December. (East). July to September. (West). 
The Cockatoo Parrakeet was met with during Cook’s voyage, but the exact 
locality is not recorded. It was described by Latham in 1781 under the name 
Crested Parrakeet without any particular information whence it came. 
Gmelin selected as a Latin equivalent a name he had previously utilised and 
peculiarly Latham in his Index allowed this, apparently on account of the 
individuality of the species, the name utilised being 4 4 novoehollandice .” When 
Kerr drew up his edition of Gmelin’ s work he observed the double usage and 
corrected the error, but he also attempted to preserve the name and achieved 
this by dropping the 44 novce ” and forming an adjective 44 hollandicus .” This 
name has been overlooked up to the present time, but it must now be resumed. 
Forty years afterward, Swainson proposed a new genus for the species 
and also gave it a new specific name, while a little later Lesson repeated the 
double nomination as already dealt with. 
Gould wrote : 44 It would appear to be more numerous in the eastern 
division of Australia than in the western. During the summer of 1839 it 
was breeding in all the appletree (Ango'phora) flats on the Upper Hunter, as 
well as on all similar districts on the Peel, and other rivers which flow to the 
North-west. I have seen the ground quite covered by them while engaged 
in procuring food, and it was not an unusual circumstance to see hundreds 
together on the dead branches of the gumtrees in the neighbourhood of water, 
a plentiful supply of which would appear to be essential to their existence. 
The flight of the Cockatoo Parrakeet is even and easy, and is capable of being 
long protracted. When it rises from the ground it flies up into the nearest 
tree, almost invariably selecting a dead branch, upon which it frequently 
perches lengthwise. It is by no means a shy bird ; and from the circumstance 
of its being excellent eating, many are killed for this purpose by persons leading 
a bush life.” 
VOL. VI. 
241 
