10 
GREAT WEITE-OBESTEB COCKATOO. 
got one nip, that stained with carmine his snowy plumes, and Cocky^s 
mistress mourned the loss of her favourite, while everyone else about 
the place rejoiced; for the poor fellow had not been too well beloved 
by the children and retainers, who all, more than once, at one time or 
another, had felt the powerful pressure of his formidable bill upon 
their hands or necks: for the poor faithful Cockatoo was so fond of the 
dear lady who had tended him and loved him from his early youth, 
that he was madly jealous of anyone and everyone who dared to approach 
her. On one occasion she called to a little son to bring her a news- 
paper out of the house to an arbour where she was sitting, with Cocky 
dozing on her shoulder, and the child, instead of handing the newspaper 
quietly to his mother, tossed it at her playfully from the arbour door, 
and the bird, always on the qui vive, even when apparently asleep, if 
his dear mistress was near; dashed at once at the boy, who instinctively 
turned and fled, but was nipped on the back of the neck by the furious 
Cockatoo, who construed the playful act of the child into an assault 
requiring condign punishment, and accordingly fastened his sharp beak 
into the back of the youngster’s neck, almost carrying away the piece; 
and to this day, though many years have elapsed since then, the white 
scar remains to attest the power of the Cockatoo’s mandibles and the 
strength of his affection for his mistress. 
“In March, 1775,” says Buffon, in his description of the Great 
White one, “there were two, a male and a female, at the fair of St. 
Germain, in Pai’is, which obeyed with great docility the orders given 
to them, either to spread out their crest, or salute people with a bend 
of the head, or to touch different objects with their beak or tongue, 
or to reply to questions from their master with a mark of assent, which 
clearly expressed a silent ‘yes’: they also showed by repeated signs 
the number of persons in the room, the hour of the day, the colour 
of clothes, etc: they kissed one another by touching their beaks, and 
even caressed each other : this showed a desire to paii-, and the master 
affirms that they often do so, even in our climates.” 
We are inclined to think that they would readily nest, and bring up 
their young in captivity, were they but afforded an opportunity for 
doing so, but the experiment, we suspect, has never been fairly tried, 
at least we have not heard of young of this species having been as 
yet produced in Europe, although one of these birds, flying at liberty, 
in the woods round Northi’epps Hall, mated with a hen Leadbeater 
{Psittacus Leadbeaieri) , and the pair produced a couple of fine hybrids, 
partaking of the characteristics of both parents, but were, with the latter, 
subsequently shot by a stupid farmer, who ought to have known better, 
but could not, apparently, resist the temptation of “potting” some 
