 Hollows can be 1 to 2 metres ( 3 @.@ 3 to 6 @.@ 6 ft ) deep and 0 @.@ 25 – 0 @.@ 5 metres ( 9 @.@ 8 – 19 @.@ 7 in ) wide , with a base of woodchips . A chance felling of a eucalypt known to have been used as a nesting tree near Scottsdale in northeastern Tasmania allowed accurate measurements to be made , yielding a hollow measuring 56 cm ( 22 in ) high by 30 cm ( 12 in ) wide at the mouth , and at least 65 cm ( 26 in ) deep , in a tree which measured 72 cm ( 28 in ) in diameter below the hollow . Both the male and female prepare the hollow for breeding , which involves peeling or scraping off wood shavings from the inside the hollow to prepare bedding for the eggs . Gum leaves are occasionally added as well . The clutch consists of one or two white lustreless rounded oval eggs which may have the occasional lime nodule . The first egg averages around 47 or 48 mm long and 37 mm in diameter ( 2 × 1 @.@ 4 in ) . The second egg is around 2 mm smaller all over and is laid two to seven days later . The female incubates the eggs alone and begins after the completion of laying . She enters the hollow feet first , and is visited by the male who brings food two to four times a day . Later both parents help to raise the chicks . The second chick is neglected and usually perishes in infancy . Information on the breeding of birds in the wild is lacking ; however , the incubation period in captivity is 28 – 31 days . Newly hatched chicks are covered with yellow down and have pink beaks that fade to a greyish white by the time of fledging . Chicks fledge from the nest three months after hatching , and remain in the company of their parents until the next breeding season . 
