_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]
CACATUA LEADBEATERI, _Wagl._
Leadbeater’s Cockatoo.
_Plyctolophus Leadbeateri_, Vig. in Proc. of Comm, of Sci. and Corr.
of Zool. Soc., Part I. p. 61; Lear’s Ill. Psitt. pl. 5; and in Phil.
Mag. 1831, p. 55.—Gould in Syn. of Birds of Australia, Part
IV.—Mitch. Australian Expeditions, vol. ii. p. 47.
_Cacatua Leadbeateri_, Wagl. Mon. Psitt, in Abhand., p. 692.
_Jak-k̏ul-yȁk-kul_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western
Australia.
_Pink Cockatoo_, Colonists of Swan River.
This beautiful species of Cockatoo enjoys a wide range over the southern
portions of the Australian continent; it never approaches very near the
sea, but evinces a decided preference for the belts of lofty gums and
scrubs clothing the sides of the rivers of the interior of the country;
it annually visits the Toodyay district of Western Australia; and, as I
ascertained, it annually breeds at Gawler in South Australia. On reading
the works of Sturt and Mitchell, I find that both those travellers met
with it in the course of their explorations, particularly on the hanks
of the rivers Darling and Murray; in fact, most of the interior
districts between New South Wales and Adelaide are inhabited by it:
future research alone will determine the extent of its range to the
northward; as yet no specimen has been received either from the north or
north-west coasts.
It must be admitted that this species is at once the most beautiful and
elegant of the genus yet discovered, and it will consequently ever be
most highly prized for the cage and the aviary; two examples, now in the
possession of the Earl of Derby, appear to bear confinement equally as
well as any of their congeners; in their disposition they are not so
sprightly and animated, but at the same time they are much less noisy, a
circumstance which tends to enhance rather than decrease our partiality
for them.
Few birds tend more to enliven the monotonous hues of the Australian
forests than this beautiful species, whose “pink-coloured wings and
glowing crest,” says Sir T. Mitchell, “might have embellished the air of
a more voluptuous region.”
Its note is more plaintive than that of _C. galerita_, and does not
partake of the harsh grating sound peculiar to that species.
General plumage white; forehead, front and sides of the neck, centre of
the under surface of the wing, middle of the abdomen, and the basal
portion of the inner webs of the tail-feathers tinged with rose-colour,
becoming of a rich salmon-colour under the wing; feathers of the
occipital crest crimson at the base, with a yellow spot in the centre
and white at the tip; bill light horn-colour; feet dark brown.
The sexes are nearly equal in size; but the female has the yellow spots
in the centre of the crest more conspicuous and better defined than her
mate, whose crest, although larger, is not so diversified in colour as
that of his mate; on the other hand, the salmon tint of the under
surface is much more intense in the male than in the female.
The Plate represents the two sexes about the natural size.
[Illustration:
CACATUA SANGUINEA: _Gould_.
_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]
CACATUA SANGUINEA, _Gould_.
Blood-stained Cockatoo.
_Cacatua sanguinea_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 138.
The circumstance of this species never having been characterized until I
described it in the “Proceedings of the Zoological Society,” above
quoted, may doubtless be attributed to its being solely an inhabitant of
the north and north-west coasts of Australia, portions of the country
where few collections have been formed. With the exception of a specimen
brought home by Captain Chambers, R.N., and another in the collection of
Mr. Bankier, my own specimens are all that I have ever seen; the whole
of these were collected at Port Essington.
The Blood-stained Cockatoo inhabits swamps and wet grassy meadows, and
is often to be seen in company with its near ally the _Cacatua
galerita_, but I am informed it is even more shy and difficult of
approach than that bird. It is doubtless attracted to the swampy
districts by the various species of Orchidaceous plants that grow in
such localities, upon the roots of which at some seasons it mainly
subsists.
But little difference occurs either in the size or the colouring of the
sexes, and I have young birds, which, although a third less in size,
closely assimilate in every respect to the adult, so much so that an
examination of the bill, which during immaturity is soft and yielding to
the touch, is necessary to distinguish them.
I have never yet observed this species in collections from New Guinea;
but I think it more than likely that its range may extend to that
island, the fauna of which is at present so imperfectly known to us.
All the plumage white; base of the feathers of the lores and sides of
the face stained with patches of blood-red; base of the inner webs of
the primaries, secondaries and tail-feathers fine sulphur-yellow; bill
yellowish white; feet mealy brown.
The figures are those of a male and a female about the natural size.
[Illustration: