Coquaigne , mod. The origin of the Italian word has been much disputed. Roast geese and fowls wandered about inviting folks to eat them, and buttered larks fell from the skies like manna. The term has been humorously applied to London, and by Boileau to the Paris of the rich. The word has been frequently confused with Cockney q. See D. Furnivall, Early English Poems Berlin, COCKATOO Cacatuidae , a family of parrots characterized among Old World forms by their usually greater size, by the crest of feathers on the head, which can be raised or depressed at will, and by the absence of green in their coloration.
They inhabit the Indian Archipelago, New Guinea and Australia, and are gregarious, frequenting woods and feeding on seeds, fruits and the larvae of insects. Their note is generally harsh and unmusical, and although they are readily tamed when taken young, becoming familiar, and in some species showing remarkable intelligence, their powers of vocal imitation are usually limited.
Of the true cockatoos Cacatua the best known is the sulphur-crested cockatoo Cacatua galerita , of a pure white plumage with the exception of the crest, which is deep sulphur yellow, and of the ear and tail coverts, which are slightly tinged with yellow.
The crest when erect stands 5 in. These birds are found in Australia in flocks varying from to in number, and do great damage to newly-sown grain, for which reason they are mercilessly destroyed by farmers.
They deposit their eggs—two in number, and of a pure white colour—in the hollows of decayed trees or in the fissures of rocks, according to the nature of the locality in which they reside. This is one of the species most usually kept in Europe as a cage bird.
