82.  Cacatua eos.—­Rose Cockatoo.

This beautiful bird, seen in the depressed interior in such great numbers, has a slate-coloured back, wings and tail, whilst its breast and neck are of a beautiful rose-pink colour.  It has a trifling crest, but not one like the two first described cockatoos.  We carried this bird with us to the farthest north, as high up as the 25th parallel.  There were several nests at Fort Grey, from which the men procured several young; one of which I brought alive to Adelaide.  They hatch in the end of October, and build in the hollows of the box-trees.  A flock of these cockatoos, turning their red breasts together to the sun in flying, look very beautiful.

83.  Licmetis NASICUS.—­Long-billed Licmetis.

This cockatoo is very like Cacatua sanguinea in colour and shape.  It is white, with a dirty shade of yellow under the wing.  The upper mandibula is much longer than the lower, overhanging it considerably.  This it uses to grub up roots and other things on which it lives.  These cockatoos were very numerous on the Murray, and are altogether distinct from the genus to which I have compared them; but their note is very similar, and, excepting to a naturalist, the difference is difficult to observe.  The skin round the eye of both species is much larger than the cere round that of the common cockatoo.

84.  CALYPTORHYNCHUS FUNEREUS?—­Black Cockatoo.

This fine bird was widely distributed over the brushy land of the interior, but was never seen in any considerable numbers.  Its plumage is black, and the broad feathers in the tail are of a light yellow underneath.  There is a supposition that when these cockatoos fly across the country uttering their hoarse note, it is a prelude to rain; but unfortunately I can bear testimony to the contrary, having often seen them so fly over my head when I would have given my right arm for water.  I am not aware that the Black Cockatoo will survive captivity, I believe they always pine and die.

85.  POLYTELIS MELANURA.—­Black-tailed Parroquet.

The Murray Parrot, with a bright yellow body and neck, the feathers at the back of the neck having a greener tinge.  The long feathers of the wing are of a blue black, as also the tail, but in the wings there are three or four desultory red feathers.  This bird visits the valley of the Murray in great numbers in the summer months, where its young are taken in great numbers, and easily tamed in cages.  I was unable to make out where this bird comes from, or the point to which it migrates.  Their place of abode during the winter is entirely unknown.  It is a beautiful and a showy bird, making a noise something like the Green Leak, and was first shot by me on my return up the river, in 1836.

86.  Platycercus BARNARDII, Vig.  And HORSF.  Barnard’s Parroquet.

This fine bird is found in the Murray Belt as well as in other localities, and is thence termed the parrot of the Murray Belt.  It is one of the most beautiful of the parrot tribe, has a generally blue-green plumage on the back and neck, with a yellow crescent on the breast, and a purple below.  This family are all distinguished by having long tails.