— M l LEADBEATERI FFaffl.
Leadbeater’s Cockatoo.
Plyctolophus Leadbeateri, Vig. in Proc. of Comm, of Sci. and Corr^p$Zool. Soc., Part I. p. 61; Lear’s 111. Psitt.
. S^rtff^Birds of Australia, Part IV.-—Mitch. Au-
Cacatua Leadbeateri, Wag|. Mon. Psitt. in Abhand., p. 692.
JaJc-kul-yak-hil, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.
■;I$ink^Qo'cj0 bO} Golonists of Swan River.
T his beautiful species of Cockatoo enjoys a wide range over the southern portions of the Australian continent
; it never approaches veryfnear 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
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 banks of th^riyers* parling .and Murray, ; in fact, most of the interior
districts »/between Sew South Wales and Adelaide are inhabited by it : future research alone will determine
^ ^ M ^ r o # { ^ p ^ ^ S 2the^horthward ; as yet no specimen has beeh ^eçéiyhd north or
1 It must be admitted that this^species is at once the most beautiful and elegant of the genus yet discovered,
and it will consequently |^erf|)e most higlîîy^^^ ^M ^ rt^ ^ c ^ eF a n d '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 t^eir"disposition they are not so sprightly and animated, but at the same time they are much
less Mi^^^ycuihspnjlegwhich tends to enhance rather than decrease our partiality for them.
Few birdstend morejp enUypitthe monotonous hues of the Australian forests than this beautiful species,
whose “ pink-coloured wings and glowing crest,’?-says Sir ®L MltcheTh “ might have embellished the alr-pf
a more voluptuoüs rë^bUf?a|'^.-
Its note is more plaintive than that of C. galerita, and does not partake of the harsh grating sound peculiar
tditlî^âphçî^il^;-''
General plumage white ; forehead, 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 'îîcl^salmon-colour under the wing ; feathers of the occipital crest crinison at the base, with
a yellow spo| in theipenfje an^ white at the tip ^h ill lig^^hbrAfcdlQun; feet dark brown.
The sexes are nearly equal in sizes but.theifemalehas.theyellow spoMin the centre^of the.crest more
conspicuous and better defined than her mate, whose cresj»althdwgh larger is not so diversified in colour as
thafefof his mate ; on the other hand, the salmon tint of the under surface is much more intense in the male
than iu the female.
The Plate represents the'two sexes, aboixt the natural size.