COCKATOO-PARROT. 
Lake, one hundred miles north from Broken Hill, on 19th September, we found 
them breeding in the dead Box Trees and stumps standing in the water, the 
eggs being very often in the hollow almost at water level, but of course always 
dry. At that date there were very few complete sets of five, mostly ones or 
twos. Galahs were also taking advantage of the protection afforded by the 
water to breed in the same situation. Later in September, and early in 
October we found G. novcehollandice nests on Sleepswell and Yalcowinna Creeks 
containing newly hatched young, curious little objects ; even at such an 
early age the crest is evident. They are hatched with eyes closed, which 
open in about four or five days, when some yellow down begins to show itself 
on the dorsal, femoral and humeral pterylse.” 
Chisholm writing from Maryborough, Victoria, in the Emu , Vol. IX., 
p. 168, 1910, notes : “ The Cockatoo-Parr akeet, like the pretty little Shell- 
Parrot, is, I regret to say, not nearly so plentiful as formerly ; probably the 
destruction of so much of the big timber is a cause for this. A friend recently 
told me of a curious practice of the Cockatoo-Parrakeets. Generally during 
the warmer months, a number of the birds — perhaps about eight or ten — will 
gather together on the horizontal branch of a tree, and sitting quite closely 
together, caress each other in a most engaging manner, meanwhile chattering 
away in a low musical tone.” 
In 1912 I separated this species into four subspecies, but here do not accept 
any. The birds from a given locality show only a certain amount of constancy, 
much variation being observed. I find other workers have met with the 
same cause and have made no attempt to explain it, but I here suggest that 
when Australian birds are studied more methodically, we may find several 
valid subspecies, and that the puzzling forms are migrants to the districts 
where they have been procured. Thus Macgillivray reports meeting with a 
migration south. These birds would tend to be dark ones from his account 
of their habitat. The birds which remained in the drier parts north would 
be light and when the southern migrants returned we would get dark and 
light birds mixed in the same locality where only the latter were breeding 
birds. Again these latter sometimes appear to move coastal, and then we 
get the reverse, light and dark birds mixed where only the darker ones were 
breeding birds. Further these suggestions seem to be confirmed by the series 
examined, a majority of birds agreeing with the locality form at breeding 
dates. I have long considered this matter and the above seems the most 
suitable explanation for the variation existent. 
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