22 
THE PABBOT TRIBES. 
and devastation are tlie work of these handsome snowy birds, 
with their lemon-colonred crests. 
The natives of those parts of Anstralia where is found the 
bird with the sulphur crest, are, as might be imagined, of less 
delicate appetite than the lady author above quoted. Three 
days boiling indeed ! I’ll warrant that a cockatoo given to a 
bushman at twelve o’clock, would be killed, gutted, and devoured, 
considerably before two. 
Nothing very reliable is known respecting the breeding habits 
of the cockatoo. The natives assert that it makes its nest in 
the rotten limbs of trees, of nothing more than the vegetable 
mould formed by decayed boughs ; that it has two young ones 
at a time ; and that the eggs are white, without spots. 
The Rose-chested Cockatoo. — This is the largest of the 
species, being about two feet in length. The crest of the rose- 
crested bird assumes a rounded 
form, and falls back over the 
neck, whereas in the other species 
it is lengthened to a point and 
curved upwards. This crest is 
composed of feathers for the 
most part of a bright orange-red 
beneath. The prevailing colour of 
the plumage is white, with a pink 
tinge. The beak is bluish black, 
and the eyes dull grey. Like its 
lemon-crested cousin it has a very 
slight knack of speech, but will 
learn to mew like a cat, bark like 
a dog, or crow like a cock readily. 
The lessee, Sulphub-ceested 
Cockatoo. — This pretty creature, 
which is three or four inches shorter than its big brother, is of 
a pure white colour excepting a lemon spot beneath the eyes 
and the tips of the tail feathers, likewise fringed with the same 
colour. As the bird’s name implies, its crest is sulphur -coloured. 
It is a native of the Moluccas, but of its natural habits little 
or nothing is known. It is a good-tempered bird, and will 
submit to be caressed and even handled by strangers without 
exhibiting any of that ferocity which attaches to the parrot tribe. 
Leadbeateb’s Cockatoo. — An elegantly-shaped bird, about 
fourteen or fifteen inches in length from the beak to the tail, 
and well proportioned, highly valued also for its docile dis- 
ROSE-CRESTED COCKATOO. 
