The kea; a New Zealand problem, including a full description of this very interesting bird, its habitat and ways

AL ly pre “ ; DA Rie aes 2 pat

ORL

+ apeckiestes

os peeeiie steel

Sy)
seve
y
‘ Hi i
Sly
pt
Ls

—s

ie
A

NYY

i
"pi
LESS
"

ty

Bese CN
FSR

PER

RIAN

A AS

\y

WEES
NNN
\

LIAM WESLEY & Son,
oksellers & WBublishers,

HET

td
My =

.
Ws
ae zh
RARE
NEN

.

BY
seis LL

4
y
“iy
“Mis
i,
My

*
x
\\ wR

6,
Wii;
oy

Ui Mypyisiet
ee My
d

Ne

5
.
\

HERES
RI
Wee

AEN
SANUS
\

\\
tet
NAA!
\\ NY ats
-

DA
tats
tie

: a ait
(Besse = aN ay

3

f
He
ty

sai MS
pean
hes

seas +} ‘ \
ww
twat ‘

ANN

a

OS alee ae A

Me NEW “ZEALAND PROBLEM

Meek, OD
2 wh
= * ~
‘
f -
_
‘ -
7 ei ‘
aS
- &
S
_ .
w
3
, ~
» **
yy =
<

i

DEDICATED

(with permission of Mrs. Hutton)

to

The late CAPTAIN F. W. HUTTON, F.R.S.,

in humble appreciation of his eminent service in many
departments of New Zealand Zoology ;

in warm admiration of the proof he furnished, in
character and utterances, that pure religion and
true science may keep close company ;

and

in deep gratitude for personal encouragement and help
in the writers’s early scientific study.

It was a wondrous realm beguiled

Our youth amid its charms to roam ;
O’er scenes more fair, serenely wild,
Not often summer’s glory smiled ;
When flecks of cloud, transparent, bright,
No alabaster half so white—

Hung lightly in a luminous dome

Of sapphire—seemed to float and sleep
Far in the front of its blue steep ;
And. almost awful, none the less

For its liquescent loveliness,

Behind them sunk—just o’er the hill
The deep abyss, profound and_ still—
The so immediate Infinite ;

That yet emerged the same, it seemed
In hue divine and melting balm,

In many a lake whose crystal calm
Uncrisped, unwrinkled, scarcely gleamed ;

Where sky above and lake below

Would like one sphere of azure show,
Save for the circling belt alone,

The softly-painted purple zone

Of mountains—bathed where nearer seen
In sunny tints of sober green,

With velvet darks of woods between,

All glassy glooms and shifty sheen ;
While here and there, some peak of snow
Would o’er their tenderer violet lean.
And yet within this region, fair

With wealth of waving woods—these glades
And glens and lustre-smitten shades,

Ay! in this realm of seeming rest,
What sights you meet and sounds of dread !
—ALFRED DOMETT.

. A - ‘j
" vd a
peed : Ce eet eae iS , j a
Lt * ag; " - 4 ‘ al v ' ra
* o. ‘¢ ewe 7 : ;
‘ee >» by) ; , 7 - ; ay
: ~ ( : i ,
evar [
— # > a) ‘" , r : I :
i at ? ae j ; ;
" . - i i we
s 2 J 1 5 . ‘ k ;
: 4
2 r 7h, >
rf ;
o-' ; ‘ .
4 i
ae ' f
“1 ' ' : ‘
r
1 i
: ' ;
os 2 i ; :
. \
F ; nf
7 ‘
m Lees - ;
» RY :
, .
y ‘ gy }
i tee 4
: Ni , :
h ; vi | ; '
- . ’ .
» h aa af ; : :
: f - - ~
pet : :
ue ; -
eee gee a 3 A ee ; aed a ao = :
: 1
' : , :
, ‘ w ;
in ee vl i ‘iy ‘ 1
I 5 .
ue
, . ;
re, \ 1 ,
i
.

‘SUATTIIMdWAHS FHL

Grays a810ay dg Surjnivg v wot. “INUDSUDAL ‘QNID Un] NOgoUsoD ay] fo uoIssimaad pury Ag

Peri ALA:

A NEW ZEALAND PROBLEM

INCLUDING

A FULL DESCRIPTION OF THIS VERY INTERESTING BIRD, ITS HABITAT
AND WAYS, TOGETHER WITH A DISCUSSION OF THE
THEORIES ADVANCED TO EXPLAIN ITS

SHEEP-KILLING PROPENSITIES.

BY

SiO RG li WAN Nii FoR eS:

MEMBER OF THE AUSTRALASIAN ORNITHOLOGICAL UNION.
CURATOR, PUBLIC MUSEUM, WANGANUI, NEW ZEALAND.

LATE ASSISTANT IN BIOLOGY, CANTERBURY COLLEGE, CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND.

LIBRARIES

A KEA FLEDGLING

MARRINER BROS. & CO., PRINTERS & PUBLISHERS,
CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND.

1908

‘ iF NaS

nian toy
MAR 15 1909
Wy0S 04

~
ticnal Musev®

AUTHOR’S NOTE.

To write a book about a bird may seem to some a_ needless
task. That depends more on the bird than on the writer. The
New Zealand mountain parrot we call the Kea presents a_ topic
of importance from many points of view. For half a century
he has been accused of being a_sheep-killer. That accusation,
persistently and vehemently made, has drawn the attention of the
scientific and non-scientific alike. For a parrot of but average
proportions to develop a furious carnivorous’ propensity is
zoologically remarkable enough. When this alleged habit is held
to be the cause of heavy losses to the sheep-farming industry of
a country it demands study also on other than zoological grounds.
Naturally enough, much has been written and said already. For
fifty years the Kea has been a veritable Ishmael, and has _ been
treated on the principle: give a bird a bad name and_ shoot
him. Not all that has been told of him, however, is true.
Much has been wildest conjecture; part is but colourably
accurate ; all, until lately, was more or less uncertain. There
seemed to be room for a careful and detailed examination of the
subject. Such an examination is here attempted.

The writer cannot claim that he is quite alone in either the
matter or the method of his investigation. After he had begun
his work upon the sheep-killing problem, he found that Professor
W. B. Benham, D.&c., F.R.S., of Otago University, had entered
upon the same inquiry, and (as the Transactions of the New
Zealand Institute show) had reached a_ similar conclusion on
similar data. To Dr. Benham the writer’s thanks are gratefully
tendered for much general help given.

For aid in securing the photographs reproduced he desires to
thank Dr. L. Cockayne, F.L.S., the Revs. A. B. Chappell and
H. E. Newton, Messrs. Harold Larkin, G. E. Mannering, A. P.
Harper, R. P. Freville, Malcolm Ross, E. F. Stead and F. Field.

Expeditions into the Kea country have been made possible by

12 THE KEA.

the ungrudging kindness of Mrs. Finlayson (late of Glenthorne
Station) and Mrs. Murchison (of Lake Coleridge Station). Under
this head is especially noteworthy the hearty and_ splendid
assistance of Mr. R. Urquhart, the manager of Mt. Algidus
Station.

Thanks are also due to Mr. E. Waite, Mr. Fougere, Mr.
A. E. Currie and Miss Sapsford.

In. preparation of material, revision of manuscript and
correction of proofs the Rev. A. B. Chappell, M.A., has
rendered invaluable aid.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

THE KEA COUNTRY

DESCRIPTION

HAUNTS AND HABITS

NESTING

AT PLAY

EARLY RECORDS

THE SHEEP KILLER

GETTING INTO BAD HABITS

KIDNEY THEORY

TIME OF ATTACK

THE DAMAGE DONE .

KEA HUNTING

DISTRIBUTION

ADDRESSES OF CORRESPONDENTS

LITERATURE

MAP

Page
17
28
35
46
60
12
83
O77

106

118

116

123

135

145

148

150:

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Frontispiece : The Sheepkillers

Kea Country : Up the Wilberforce River

Kea Country : Boundary Creek
Kea Country : Glenthorne Homestead

Kea Country

Kea Country : West of Dividing Range

‘The Kea

Keas’ Heads

Keas : Shape and Appearance
The Kea: Museum Specimen

The Kea’s Head

The Kea: On the Lookout

The Kea: Hunting for Insect Larve
Mountain Daisy

Mountain Lilies

Maori Onion

Jack’s Hill and Chimera Creek
Natural Entrance into a Kea Run
Natural Entrance into a Kea Run
Kea Eggs

Nestling Keas

Nestling Kea

Keas at Play

A Kea on Ball Glacier

Ready for Mischief

Page

18
20
22
23
26
29
30
32
38
34
36
38
40
42
44
A7
49
51
55
56
57
61
63
66

THE KEA. 15

Page
Up to Mischief ‘ : F ‘ ‘ F : ; ‘ 69
Mr James McDonald ‘ ‘ : : ; j , : 74
A Sheep Killed by Keas 3 , : ; : é ; 84
Close View of a Wound . : ; é 3 : F ‘ 89
A Sheep Killed by Keas ; : : : : ; , 92
Close View of Wound ; 5 : , : ; : , 94
The Vegetable Sheep : 2 : : 2 . , : 99
The Meat Gallows : : ‘ : ; ; : - L038
Humerus of Sheep. : : : : : : : = dT
Kea Country : Arthur Valley looking down from McKinnon Pass 114
Kea Country : Clinton River and Mt. McKenzie ; « Lie
Kea Country : Lake Ada and Arthur Valley ; : : 118

Kea Country : Clinton Valley looking down from McKinnon Pass 120

Kea Country: In Pursuit of the Kea in Summer—Fording

the Avoca River i : ; ; : : : 125
Kea Country : Author’s Camp j ; : : : o «AZT
Kea Country : In Pursuit of the Kea in Winter . ; Zs
Keas’ Heads ; : ; : : - i : -- ~ hss
Bones of the Kea: Found in the Chatham Islands ‘ ‘ 141

Map of the South Island, New Zealand, showing the Kea’s
Distribution ; : : : ; ‘ P : 150

O bird of twinkling eye and plumage gay,
Soaring in glorious heights beyond our ken,
Threading the branching beauty of the glen,
What clouds have fall’n upon thy shining way !
Preying thyself, thou art become a prey,
A hovering terror feared and cursed of men ;
For faithful shepherd needs must smite again
Whate’er his harmless flock would tear and slay.
A madness like thine alpine torrent’s own,
Shrouding thee in the mists of lowering hate,
Hurries thee to the shade of nether gloom,
Dashes thee from thy bush-clad mountain throne
To deep disgrace and ignominious fate,
And seals thee with irrevocable doom.
—ALBERT B. CHAPPELL.

Pr, Wes

PevewW: ZEALAND PROBLEM

CHAPTER: 1.

THE KEA COUNTRY.

Ranges on ranges, far crest on crest,
The long Alp-barriers closed the West,
Like the walls of the Median city old,
A guardian girdle sevenfold.

There grimmest ridges looked softer through

The clinging film of their gentle blue,

Where bigh in the haze of the summits show
-———s The cool, faint streaks of belated snow.

—WILLIAM PEMBER REEVES,

AVE you ever seen ‘‘the Kea Country?”’
The writer has; and the way in which the
vision came to him seems worth the telling,
especially as an introduction to an attempt
to describe and discuss one of the most
interesting creatures in a land where the
interesting abounds.

For years I had longed to see the haunts of the Kea;
and when at length a convenient winter vacation came,
bringing no eall to roam more. pressing than this, I
left the laboratory for the mountains. It is not an expedition
to be enjoyed alone. But at the last minute my chosen
companion failed me, and, rather than lose a rare chance,
I went without him.

2—16 7

18 THE KEA.

By train and bicycle I gradually wormed my way from
Canterbury’s city of the plain into the foot-hill country of
the range that stretches along not far from the western edge
of our South (or Middle) Island of New Zealand. Back of
the lesser heights appeared the glistening peaks of the alpine
country, where river beds of shingle and _ terraces of
browning tussock and lakes of deep calm occupied the
spaces between the sky-piercing points. As I struck in

KEA COUNTRY: Up THE WILBERFORCE RIVER; SHOWING THE BARENESS OF
THE MOUNTAINS EAST OF THE DIVIDING RANGE.

from Glentunnel, Mt. Hutt towered in front; a gaunt, mute
sentinel seven thousand feet in height, with epaulettes and
trappings of tussock and helmet of snow. Nothing daunted,
I eyeled by him deeper and deeper into the ranges by the
way the Rakaia River has made for itself in its descent from
the heights to the plain.

THE KEA COUNTRY. 1g

Here and there great shingle slides come down the
mountain slopes, long streams of broken boulders that creep
into the gorge and spread fan-like for a mile or so across
its broken expanse. In places the river has shorn them. off
clean; and their massive walls, often a hundred feet in
height, bound the river’s torrent.

A night was spent at Lake Coleridge Homestead; and
then, with my outfit transferred from cycle to horse, I
skirted the lake, its wild water-fowl rising in clouds at my
approach. About midday I reached the top of the pass.

At last! There before me it lay,—the lonely, solemn,
weird but fascinating country the Kea chooses for a home.
Not a sound broke the great silence as I reined up and
gazed across the apparently endless succession of snow-clad
peaks. My coming seemed an_ intrusion. Save for the
dray-track that wound easily down for a mile or so to the
river-bed, passing an empty galvanised-iron hut as it went,
there was no sign of man’s presence in this vast wild.
Over this scene, looking then much as it does now, the giant
moas, whose remains have been found in the gorge, must
have strutted in search of food.

Hundreds of feet below lie the Rakaia Forks, where the
Wilberforce, Mathias and Rakaia Rivers unite their forces
before they charge down the gorge on to the plains. Their
reinforcements are called from all the surrounding peaks.
They rush from the terminal faces of the glaciers; they
trickle from the snow-line; they ripple and bubble through
the cushion-like vegetation of the higher slopes. Down amid
the dense bush they tumble, forming numerous cascades
and waterfalls. Here they rattle under a fallen monarch of
the forest. There they slip and slide over the great boulders
that in vain stand to stem their progress. Down they
scramble, seething over the shingle of the river-bed,
sweeping round the hill slopes, hurrying to join the roaring
river.

Where the gorge widens out the streams of the Rakaia
anastomose like silver network, with the tussocky flats filling
up the intervals. Farther away lie great swamps, where

20 THE KEA.

paradise duck and swamp hen thrive, but horse and rider may
be hopelessly bogged in awful quagmire.

Westward the three great river-beds spread, first for ten
or twelve miles as broad U-shaped valleys and then as deep
precipitous gorges leading away to the supplying glaciers.
There the streams are lost to view.

KEA COUNTRY (Bounpary CREFK): A SMALL TRIBUTARY
OF THE WILBERFORCE RIVER.

Their flood height can be gauged by the broad reaches
of naked shingle flanking the water’s edge. Everywhere else
below the hardy tussock is supreme. Above, peaks, jagged
and white, stretch away to the great heights of the Southern
Alps themselves. It is all so appallingly gigantic that man

seems helplessly insignificant.

THE KEA COUNTRY. 21

Behind, running away to the east, the Rakaia cuts its
way, first for fourteen miles over a shingle-bed about a mile
wide, and then, for another eight, rushing through a narrow
defile amid some of the grandest gorge scenery of the
Dominion.

Away to the left the Mt. Hutt Range continues, until it
meets the Arrowsmith Range, capped with snow and. girdled
with glaciers, standing across the valley. To the right is
Peak Hill’s lower range, ending in a_ sharp point, — Mt.
Oakden, cut off from the Rolleston Range by the Wilberforce
stream, which has been strengthened above by the lesser
Harper and Avoca.

All around, the mountain sides are weathered into great
shingle slips, marching down to take possession of the plain,
debouching here, uniting forces there, now in file, then in
column, but always met by the indomitable tussock. The
fight goes on, but the tussock is here unbeaten; life tells;
‘fa living dog is better than a dead lion.”’

But these shingle slides—which for size and abundance
are said to be seen nowhere else in the world, and accounted
for by brittle strata and very sudden changes in temperature
—are an annoyance to the traveller. Travelling is frightfully
heavy and slow; and any attempt to ascend their shifting
stretches is heart-breaking.

As might be expected, over this vast wilderness sparse
settlement only is possible. A few lonely homesteads, each
with its shearing sheds and shepherds’ huts, are all that can
be found in the way of dwellings. The attendant sheds and
huts are often separated from each other, and from the
central dwelling, by miles of mountain range and _- stony
river-bed. Each homestead is the centre of a sheep-station,
which often includes many mountain chains. Life in the
central dwelling is as a rule rigorous and lonely enough for the
most austere hermit. News from the outer world filters in
uncertainly, and usually with intervals of many weeks. For the
lonely musterer, or shepherd, in his detached hut, the life is
even worse. Little wonder that now and again one becomes
mad or misanthropic.

22 THE KBEA.

The region is an extremely stormy one. In July of 1907
I stayed some days at the Mt. Algidus Station, a fair sample
of those described. It stands about forty miles back from
the plains, and includes the Rakaia Forks, shut in ameng the
ranges. On my return journey I had experience of the fury of
the winter tempests that sweep over the area. My attempt to

) =
a.

we yer ae a a
bee Oe ge we (OY

na cal
ra

KEA COUNTRY:
GLENTHORNE HomestTEAp (3000 ft. ALT.), AND THE Brrpwoopd RaneGe (7000 ft. ALT.).

make a dash on horseback for the Lake Coleridge Station was
made painful and perilous by a snowstorm. It took six hours
to do the intervening twenty miles. The drift was blinding,
and the snow so caked upon the horse’s hoofs that the ride
became a stumble through the gale. Soon riding was
impossible. The falling snow shut off all but a few yards
ahead. Compelled to lead my horse, I fought my way until
the pass was crossed and the homestead safely reached.

I was fortunate. Such winter travelling in that wild
waste is full of dangers. A false step, and death may be
met. Some years before, on the opposite side of this same

THE KEA COUNTRY. Ze

gorge, a surveyor was injured by a fall. He lay for days
in that land of awful distances, starving, freezing, until his
mind wandered and death came to rescue him. His note-book,
found beside his body, told a pathetic tale. He had _ heard
the men shouting to their horses as they dragged supplies

KEA COUNTRY.

up to the Mt. Algidus Station; but the help for which he
looked never came.

Such storms as I experienced come in close succession in
the winter months, burying everything under many feet of
snow. The night frosts clutch everything with a grip of iron.
Cascades become threads of shining icicles. Nothing but the
main body of the streams resists the binding cold.

24 THE KEA.

When spring comes there is a change, but only
doubtfully for the better. The biting blasts give place to
the warmer winds from the north west. These come over
the Tasman Sea, getting charged with moisture on the way,
until they strike the rampart of alpine peaks and pour their
burden on the snow. At night the scene is weirdly grand.
The lightning plays among the rocky crests, darting its
fiery fingers again and again down into the valleys. <A
veritable cannonade of thunder shakes the mountain slopes,
while sleet and hail sweep ruthlessly everywhere. Soon every
crevice in the mountain side sends forth a torrent; the
ereeks become rushing rivers; and the river itself awakes
to fury, losing its winter gentleness for a violence
indescribable. Swollen from bank to bank, it becomes a
seething, whirling, irresistible flood. It gouges out the bases of
the cliffs and sweeps away the fords, while the roar of its
water and the growl of its crunching boulders can be heard
miles away. Heavily laden with yellow silt, it rushes out
over the plains and discolours the sea for seventy miles
out from the coast. The coming of these spring winds effects
a devastating transformation, well described in the following
stanzas from ‘‘The Nor’-Wester,’’ by the late Mrs. F. M.
Renner, #¢¢ Craig :—

Then I spring up the slopes of the Alps, but recoil at the touch of their snow,
And wrap myself round in cloud; and my angry eyes, aglow,
Shoot forth the zig-zag lightning; my thunder shakes the air,
And I scatter the great drops thick and fast from off my sea-wet hair.
But never a whit can the Alps stop me,
I leave them soon behind,
And revel and dance in maddest glee,
A riotous Nor’-West wind!

My warm breath frees the waters, and makes the snow flowers die,
And the sides of the Alps are torn as the torrents hurry by;
There’s a fresh in the Waimakariri, a flood in the turbid Grey ;
Each swollen river is rushing, o’erwhelming all in its way.
And this is my work that none can withstand,
Nor any powec can bind ;
And I dance and revel throughout the land,
A riotous Nor’-West wind !

During midsummer and autumn only are these’ vast
alpine tracts at all comfortably accessible.
This band of alpine country forms the back-bone of the

THE KEA COUNTRY. 25

South Island of New Zealand, and _ stretches for about 480
miles, from one end of the island to the other, lying
somewhat to the west. It is composed of long parallel
ranges of mountains many thousands of feet in height,
erossed all along their length by shorter transverse ranges,
which taper out to the plains. In between these cross
ranges the rivers run, fed all the year round by the alpine
snows, and cutting out deep gorges between the mountains,
which form picturesque defiles opening to the plains.

These river-beds form the easiest way of access to the
alpine country, and usually a road or _ track — stretches
along their high banks, cutting across miles of shingly
river-bed, over low hills and flat tussocky terraces, until it
runs towards the central range, often getting rougher and
more hard to follow as it approaches the passes that lead to
the West Coast.

On the east side of the dividing range the mountains are
clothed with tussock grass, which grows up towards’ the
snow-line, where it gives place to the sub-alpine vegetation.
Where the rainfall is sufficient fairly large patches of forest
stretch for miles.

On the western slopes, owing to the large amount of
moisture deposited by the north-west winds, the barren
tussocky scenery changes almost immediately into beautiful
snow-clad peaks, covered on their lower slopes by evergreen
forest, where ratas, veronicas, olearias, tree ferns and mosses
form scenes of exquisite beauty.

From the sides of the steep forest-clad mountains
foaming cascades and roaring torrents tumble down into the
valleys; and, when the upper snows melt, waterfalls of all
sizes pour from every depression and gully, forming, with
the dark evergreen of the bush, scenes of unsurpassed
loveliness. Here one leaps from the cliff a hundred feet or
so above you, and, arching over the roadway, tumbles with
a roar into the valley, drenching the traveller with spray as
he passes under its watery arch. There one darts out from
some bush-clad_ precipice, and, when caught by the wind,
spreads itself out for some hundreds of feet along the sides

26 THE KEA.

of a dark cliff, like a gigantie silken bridal veil, throwing
out iridescent colours as the sunbeams play among its folds.
Northward the alpine country gradually diminishes in
height and grandeur, and spreads out almost from coast to
coast, forming the hills of Nelson and Marlborough.
Southward the ranges rise higher until the chain is

KEA COUNTRY: SHOWING THE BUSH-CLAD MOUNTAINS WEST OF DIVIDING RANGE,

crowned by Mt. Cook, which well deserves its Maori name
of Aorangi, or ‘‘the heaven piercer.’’ Snow-clad and grand,
it rears up its sharp precipitous peaks some 13,000 feet into the
air, surrounded by a large number of minor peaks, second
only to itself in height and splendour. Here on all sides the
valleys are filled with huge glaciers, stretching out to eighteen
miles in length. The glacier streams which flow from their
termina! faces fill large glacier lakes; these in turn feed the
rivers, which hurry down their gorges to the sea.

Southward beyond this the mountains spread out and
cover Otago and Southland; while to the west the scenery
along the main chain increases in imposing loveliness. The

THE KEA SCOWNERY: 2

rugged, barren peaks give place to bush-clad mountains;
peak after peak, range after range, they seem to vie with
one another in presenting to the traveller scenes most
varied and _ striking. Here a peak mightier than _ his
comrades shoots up his hoary crest into the’ blue, his
lower slopes clothed in evergreen forest of rata, lancewood,
ferns and mosses, often so dense as to be impenetrable. As
the height increases the growth dwindles, until near the
snow-line it gives place to the celmisia and mountain lily,
which in turn give place to the cushiony vegetation of the

sub-alpine _ flora. Above this, plant life ceases to fight
against the terrible odds, and the rugged, rocky summits are
clad in eternal ice and snow. Alongside this symbol of

massive strength and grandeur, a deep, peaceful lake will be
found quietly nestled, which, but for the bush-clad precipices
and the snow-clad peaks’ reflecting themselves on _ its
surface and the heavy bush fringing its sides, would fit
well in some English country landscape

The whole country about this region is an endless. series
of craggy peaks, dark mountain’ gorges, sylvan lakes,
picturesque fiords, which for grandeur and beauty are
unsurpassed, and draw travellers from all parts of the world
to gaze upon them.

This long stretch of alpine country is the home of the
Kea. Here he reigns supreme. At times he may be seen
flying about the snow-clad peaks and the glaciers, or
hopping from rock to rock in search of food. Again, he
may be found in the dense bush, seeking berries or prying
curiously into the ways of the homesteads. Here, in a
region of mountain, forest and flood, the bird has lived and
flourished for centuries, until man came unbidden. With
man came sheep, and with sheep the great temptation, and
soon also the fall that has for ever blackened the character of
these interesting mountain parrots. Even yet, with the
brand of Cain upon them and every man’s hand against
them, they find a refuge and a home in the mountain
fastnesses.

CHAPTER II.

DESCRIPTION.

In the midst, iridescent and glowing,
Full-breasted, bead-eyed,
Bright as the Argus showing,
Not knowing its pride,
—JOHANNES C, ANDERSEN.

There is nothing very graceful about the Kea, neither
in appearance nor in movement. He is a clumsy, awkward-
looking, olive-green bird, somewhat larger than a domestic
pigeon, with a flat head and a long, sharp, curved beak.
His legs are short, so that his tail is often dragging on
the ground; and, when not hopping, at which he is an
adept, he moves with an ungraceful waddle. There are
four toes on each foot, slate-coloured, as is the tarsus,
and not only are they placed two each ‘‘fore and aft,’’ but
they are long and seem unfit for much walking. To add
to his clumsiness, when walking the bird often places the
tarsus as well as the foot on the ground, so that feathers
on the legs touch the ground.

When the bird settles after flying he appears somewhat
graceful, but he very soon ruffles his feathers and hides his
symmetry.

The intensity in the colouring of the plumage varies
largely according to the season of the year or the age of
the bird. Often some appear to be of a dirty, washed-out,
brownish green, while others have a_ beautiful olive-green
plumage, tinted with red and brown.

Dull olive-green feathers, edged with black, cover the
whole body, except for a band of brick-red feathers (upper
tail coverts) over the base of the tail, and a large patch
of similarly coloured feathers under each wing.

Qe

DESCRIPTION. 29

The green colouration is most vivid on the back and on the
sides of the wings, but it gets duller on the ventral
surface of the body and towards the head.

The outer webs of the large wing feathers (primaries)
have a bright metallic-blue tint, while the inner webs are
brownish-black, banded. by pale yellow teeth.

THE KEA: SHOWING THE USUAL RUFFLED CONDITION OF THE PLUMAGE,

The under surfaces of these feathers are similar to the
upper, except that the metallic blue colour on the outer
webs is absent, being replaced by the general blackish-brown hue.

The tail feathers are nearly equal in length, and _ the
upper surfaces are olive-green, getting paler towards the
tips. They are crossed at their extremity by a black band.

The upper mandible, or beak, is smooth, and much
curved. It is of a brownish-black colour, with a lighter
yellow tint at its crown.

The lower mandible is much shorter, and is nearly
straight. It is of lighter colour, being in the young bird

30 Ue) TRAN.

mostly yellow, but darkening to a brownish-black as the bird

ages.
The eyes are dark brown or black, with a yellow ring
of wattle encircling each. There is also some similarly

coloured wattle (cere) around the nostrils, which in shade
varies from a bright to a dull yellow.

Female, Male.

KEAS’ HEADS: SHOWING THE FXTERNAL DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN THE SEXES,

From a number of specimens kindly lent me by Dr. B.
Moorhouse, of Christchurch, I obtained the following average
measurements :

Length of the bird from the tip of the beak to the end
of the tail—204 inches : maximum, 23 inches ; minimum, 183
inches.

Length of the upper mandible from tip to gape—22 inches ;
maximum, 2? inches: minimum, 1f inches.

Length of wing from flexure (carpel), 12 38-5 inches ;
maximum 13 inches; minimum 12 inches.

The female is very similar to the male, but can often be
recognised by the duller plumage. If one is at all familiar

DESCRIPTION. 3

with the birds, the beak and general form are good
indications ; the female is a more slightly built bird, and the
beak is neither so stout nor so powerful. There may be
some confusion when young birds are encountered, but these
can always be identified by the quantity of yellow colouring
in the mandibles.

Even the young male bird usually has a more _ heavily
built beak than the adult female.

Like other members of the genus Nestor, individuals vary
much in the brilliancy of their tints, and sometimes the
variation is so marked as to give them an albino or a yellow
appearance. Professor F. W. Haslam, of Christchurch,
informed me that he saw in one of the Otago homesteads a
stuffed Kea that was more or less an albino.

Sir W. Buller gives the following instance of variation
in a specimen procured for him from the interior of Otago :—
“ Bright canary yellow, with a few red feathers
interspersed throughout the plumage; vivid red on_ the
rump and upper tail coverts, as well as under the
wings. Such a gorgeous bird has never been seen in
the district before.”’

In the supplement of his ‘‘New Zealand Birds’’ he
says:—‘‘ About seventeen years ago a_ beautiful yellow
Kea was obtained in the Wanaka Country in the _ far
south. At the time there was a Government bonus of
two shillings per head for Keas, as the bird had _ been
proving very destructive to the sheep. Every man_ on
the station, as a rule, carried with him a fowling piece
on his rounds and came home at night with a bagful of
beaks, thus adding not inconsiderably to his weekly wages.
Thousands of pounds were paid in the course of the year
by way of bonuses in the Wanaka district alone. The last
payment made by my informant was £500 in one lump
sum. It can be gathered by this what the destruction
of Keas was at that time. In consequence of this
persistent slaughter: they rapidly grew scarcer, till at
length there were so few to be seen that the men at
work on the round would not encumber’ themselves with

32 THE KEA.

a gun. When the killing fever was at its height, one
of the men on delivering his tale of beaks said: ‘I shot
to-day the queerest Kea I ever saw—all _ yellow.’
He added that there was another similar bird which he
could ‘not eatch. Finding that the man, after cutting
off the beak, had thrown the body aside, the manager
sent out to search for the bird, but was unsuccessful,
some vagrant dog or hawk having carried it away. In a

KEAS: SHOWING THE GENERAL SHAPE AND APPEARANCE OF THE BIRDS,

short time, however, the other was shot and_ carefully
preserved by the manager, who sent it to Mr. C.
Turnbull, of Dunedin. The bird has since come into my
son’s possession, and the whole of the body plumage is
vivid canary yellow, deepening on the neck and _ sides of
the body and rump into a rich orange yellow; most of
the secapulars and the quills are of the normal colour,
except the first primary in each wing, which is_ yellowish
white; tail feathers, canary yellow, exeepting two of the
outer lateral ones, which are partly normal; _ lining of
wing, delicate orange. Here and there, especially on the

DESCRIPTION. 3H

head, there is a feather or two of the normal colour.
To be exact, this abnormal example was obtained at the
head of the Shotover River, on the western side of the
Motutapu.’’

There have come under my notice two malformations of
the Kea’s beak.

THE KEA (MusrumM SPECIMEN): SHOWING
GENFRAL APPEARANCE.

In 1899 a man photographed a Kea that had the upper
mandible shot away down to a stump. In spite of this
disadvantage the bird was very strong when seen.

I have in my case the head of a Kea shot by Mr. R.
Urquhart, near the homestead of Mt. Algidus. The upper
mandible by some means had been shot wholly or partly
away just at the nostrils, leaving nothing but a_ stump.

3—16

B4 THE KEA.

Since then, apparently, a new beak has grown out above
the old stump, and has curled round over the lower mandible,
until it has formed a half circle. The new beak is much
narrower at the base than the old one, and does not taper
to a point, but ends bluntly. Owing to the long curve on
the upper mandible the two beaks would not come _ close
together, and the bird must have found some difficulty in
procuring food. However, in spite of this, it was fairly
plump when shot and seemed to have got a good deal of
enjoyment out of life.

KEA’S HEAD: SHOWING THE ABNORMAL GROWTH
OF THE UPPER MANDIBLE DUE TO A
BULLET WOUND.

CHAPTER III.

HAUNTS AND HABITS.

Mountain lilies shine
Far up against the snow,
And ratas twine
On the wooded slopes below.
Rata and clematis
Sweet as bush may hold;
While honey-loving wild birds kiss
The kowhai’s cup of gold.

Mary CoLporne-VEEL,

It is a well established fact that the Kea is found in the
mountainous regions of the South Island of New Zealand ;
but whether it lives among the snow-capped peaks and
glaciers, or lower down near the forest line, is a question
that has not so far been satisfactorily answered.

So much romance has’ surrounded the bird since its
discovery that it is difficult to get people to come down to
the sober facts of the case. So popular has it become to
describe the Kea as the solitary denizen of the lonely snow-
bound alpine peaks, that even some of our _ present-day
scientists, without taking the trouble to ascertain its real
habits, prolong the popular erroneous belief that the Kea
dwells only amid ice and snow.

A recent book states that it lives ‘“‘up in the mighty
mountains where the snow never melts and men seldom go:
sometimes it is driven from its stronghold and is compelled
to seek food at lower elevations.”’

Another writer describes the bird as living ‘‘far above
the dwarf vegetation . . . . in a region often shrouded
with mists and driving sleet.’’

The Kea may often be seen soaring among the silent
snow-capped heights; yet it by no means spends most of its

me there, but is more frequently found at lower levels.

»
vo

36 THE KEA.

Though the mountains in the South Island are high,
ranging from five to thirteen thousand feet, and though in
winter they are covered with a thick coating of snow, yet in
summer, owing to the warm winds and rain from the north
west, much of their snow is melted. It is, therefore, only

THE KEA: ON THE I00K OUT,

on the main dividing range and several other more or less
isolated peaks that much snow can be found; and this is
often confined to the greater heights. Again, if the Kea
lives far up above the dwarf vegetation, how is it to subsist?

_

HAUNTS AND HABITS. o7

And again, is it likely that a bird would make its home in
a wilderness of snow and ice when there are better places
for nesting, lower down the mountain, among the very
vegetation from which it obtains its natural food ?

From wnat I have personally seen of the Kea’s home, it
is not a place of eternal ice and snow, but a spot that, in
fine weather at all events, is unsurpassed for beauty and
situation.

Below is the ever vernal forest, with all its beautiful tints
of green, covering the mountain slopes down to the bottom
of the valley, where an entrancing panorama of lake, river
and flat spreads out before the eye.

Above, the craggy peaks pierce a sky of exquisite blue ;
while under foot the sub-alpine flora, in all its quaint
beauty, forms a carpet of cushion-like plants, dotted over
with small white flowers, like so many stars shining in an
emerald sky. Away from the heat of the valley, with a
wide, grand outlook and a life-giving atmosphere, the bird
has surroundings to be coveted. Sometimes it rises and
circles the snowy peaks, but more often it swoops down to
where the forest and river-bed meet, and revels among the
foliage.

A good deal of support has been given to the Kea’s
alleged preference for snow and ice by the fact that travellers,
when climbing the Alps, often see the parrot soaring round,
and they too readily conclude that this must be its natural
environment.

It seems to me that nothing could be more natural than
that a bird of such known inquisitiveness and keen sight
should fly up and investigate the dark figure of the climber
as he makes his way over the snow and ice.

Sir W. Buller, as early as 1888, made very clear the
Kea’s true habitat. He says, ‘‘I have seen it soaring or
flying, often in parties of three or more, from peak _ to
peak, high above the wooded valley; but it is more
generally to be met with on the open mountain _ side,
flying from rock to rock, or hopping along the ground
amongst the stunted alpine vegetation, in quest of its
natural food.”’

38 THE KEA.

Subsequent writers, however, seem entirely to have
passed over this clear statement, and in all the popular
articles on the subject that I have seen a wrong habitat is
given.

Sir Julius von Haast saw two Keas flying over the Godley
Glacier; but, though he saw Keas_ several times while

THE KEA: HontviIneG FOR INSECT LARVE.

exploring the alpine country of Canterbury, once only did he
meet them in perpetually snow-clad regions and amongst
glaciers.

Another significant fact is that many accounts of sheep
killing have come from districts which are situated many miles
from the region erroneously described as the Kea’s home,.

Dr. L. Cockayne, in a communication to me, gives what
I take to be the Kea’s correct habitat. He says ‘I
have observed the Kea in various parts of the Southern

HAUNTS AND HABITS. 39

Alps, from the Humboldt Mountains in the south to
Kelly’s Hill in Westland. Although frequently met with
on the open alpine and sub-alpine hillside, I consider the
bird essentially one of the forest limit, where it may be
seen in numbers at the junction of the forest and
sub-alpine meadows and in the Nothofagus forest where
such are pierced by river-beds.’’

In my travels in the back country, I have frequently
made the Kea’s acquaintance, mostly around the head-waters
of the Rakaia River and also around Mount Torlesse, and,
though I have seen it up as high as 5000 feet or more, my
observations agree entirely with Dr. Cockayne’s statement.

One writer even ridicules the idea of Keas being forest
birds, for he says, ‘‘I remember being astonished on reading
of the Kea living in the forest, for I never, even during
the severest winter, saw it perched on trees.’ It is a
well-known fact now that they commonly settle on trees;
as early as 1862 Sir Julius von Haast saw one in a tree
near Lake Wanaka, and since his time numerous — similar
testimonies have been borne.

I have, on several occasions, seen the Kea perching on
trees. Once in January, 1903, in a forest behind the Glenthorne
Homestead, and while camping for several days near the
source of the Avoca river, I and others constantly saw them
flying in and out of the forest some 500 feet above us.

The fact that these birds were seen so low down in
suramer disproves the old statement of many writers that
they come down to lower altitudes only in heavy weather.
Each time that I saw them low down it was mid-summer,
and the weather was warm and clear.

At first I thought that possibly the Keas had come to live
at low altitudes since they had developed sheep-killing
propensities, in order to be near to their quarry; but the
fact that before they had learned that habit, namely, in
1866-67, Sir Julius von Haast saw more Keas below than above
snow-line disproves the supposition. The very fact that, in
winter, the heavy falls of snow, accompanied by cold biting
winds, drive the Kea to lower altitudes, seems to me _ to

40 THE KBEA.

indicate conclusively that the bird is not so fond of cold
stormy heights as many people suppose.

People have often wondered how the birds manage to exist
in the alpine country when an excessively heavy fall of snow
absolutely covers the land for many weeks, so that even the sheep
out on the open hill-side are buried so deeply as to prevent
the birds molesting them. An experience that came _ to

MOUNTAIN DAISY (Celmisia coriacea): Tur Kea IS FOND OF
THE ROOTS OF THIS PLANT,

Mr. R. Guthrie, of Burke’s Pass, throws a good deal of (light
on this question. Many years ago he was out looking after
sheep on Mistake Station during a heavy snowfall, when,
walking on the frozen crust of snow on a_ hillside, he
suddenly broke through and sank first into a bed of snow
and then through the tops of some serub on which the smooth
sheet of snow was lying. The snow was so thick that, with
the tops of the scrub, it made all dark below. Hearing
some odd sounds, he struck a match to see what sort
of companions he had _ fallen in with, and there’ he
found several Keas busy pecking the ground for grubs and
gurgling over their work; and further away he could hear

HAUNTS AND HABITS. 4]

others. Here, then, was an explanation of the wintering of the
Keas. The alpine scrub is generally fairly thick where there
is any at all, thick enough to form a roof upon which the
snow can lie, and stiff enough to bear the weight of it ; and
beneath the scrub and snow roof the Keas ean be
very comfortably housed, out of the reach of frosts
and gales, and with a larder under their feet. There may
not be much in that larder, but it is enough to keep them
alive till the snow disappears.

It is quite a mistake to think that whenever you are in
Kea country you will see the birds; considering the expanse
of the country, the Keas are comparatively few, and_ the
traveller may spend days and even weeks without ever seeing
a single specimen.

They seem to have favourite valleys and peaks, and, if
you can get back into the mountain fastnesses and camp in
these places, the Keas in their native haunts can usually be
seen.

At other times they may be seen in ones and twos or
larger groups scattered throughout the country, but their
appearance on the scene is always an uncertainty.

Often they seem to be very timid, and fly high up in the
air, giving out their characteristic cries as they sail overhead.
Sometimes, on the other hand, they become fearless and poke
round one’s tent and camp fire in a way that makes them a
perfect nuisance.

In some districts, where they were once to be seen in large
flocks, the long slaughter has since greatly reduced their
numbers.

The Kea, like other parrots, is normally a_ vegetarian,
with, as one might expect from its connection with the
brush-tongued parrots, a strong liking for honey.

In addition to this it is strongly insectivorous, being
specially fond of the larve of the insects found on _ the
mountains.

The late Mr. T. H. Potts says that the Kea gathers its
subsistence from the nectar of hardy flowers—from the drupes
and berries of dwarfed shrubs that contend with the rigorous

42 THE KEA.

climate and press upward almost to the snow-line of our
alpine giants. To these food resources may be added insects
found in the erevices of rocks, beneath the bark of trees, ete.

A correspondent, in a letter to me on the subject, says:
‘““The Kea eats all the grasses to be found in mountainous
country, and besides eating the tender shoots it is particularly
fond of the grain or seeds of the blue grass. It turns over
the stones and gets the larve of the ants, and also eats
worms, grasshoppers, grubs and _ beetles.’’

MOUNTAIN LILIES (Ranunculus Lyallii) asp CELMISIAS: THE ROOTS
OF THESE PLANTS FORM PART OF THE KEA’S FOOD SUPPLY.

When the snow covers the sub-alpine shrubs, and insect
life is dormant, the Kea is forced to go lower and _ lower
down the mountain to take shelter in gullies, where it feeds
on the hard, bitter seeds of kowhai (Svphora tetraptera /,
small hard seeds in the fruit of Pittosporum, the black
berries of <Aristotelia fructicosa, (the native currant), as well
as on the fruit of the pitch pine (Dacrydinm biforme?) and the
totara (Podocarpus totarda.).

Mr. Huddlestone gives its bill of fare as follows :—

HAUNTS AND HABITS. 43

““Besides grubs, they feed on the berries of various alpine
shrubs and trees, such as the snow-berry, (Gaultheria,
Coprosma, Panax ( Nothopanar), the little black seed in a
white skin of Phyllocladus alpinus, and Pittosporum, with
its hard seed in a glutinous mass, like bird-lime, and the red
berry of the Podocurpus (Nivalis), also on roots of various
herbaceous plants — Aciphylla — squarrosa and AL. Colensoi,
Ranunculus Lyallti, celmisias, ete.”’

Professor W. B. Benham, when in the Southern Alps, saw
some Keas eating the orange berries of the low-growing heath,
Leucopogon Fraseri. He says:—‘*Two birds were feeding on
these berries within two yards of where I was sitting; they
ate the juicy part of the berry, putting out the skin and
usually the ‘seed’ also, which I found afterwards on the
ground, though now and then I heard the bird crack the seed ;
so that occasionally at any rate it swallows this.’’

A correspondent, writing on this subject, says :—‘‘I have
watched the Kea pecking grubs out of a dead tree, and have
frequently noticed them picking into the earth for the roots
with their beaks.’’

Another says :—‘‘I have shot very few [Keas] that have not
had mutton in their crops, and next to that are grubs and the
roots of aniseed. In summer and autumn they go for berries,
such as snow-berries, etc., and also the honey out of the flax
seed ( Phormium tenax/.”’

Miss Eva C. Izard, of Christchurch, has placed me under
obligation by putting her Keas through a special course of
food in order to ascertain their particular tastes; and, in
addition to this, so tame was one of them that it was given
at certain times the run of the orchard and grounds and so could
help itself to the many native plants found there. In this way,
observing the birds under circumstances as natural as possible,
Miss Izard was able to supply me with much useful information
regarding their natural foods. I cannot do better’ than
quote her letter :—‘‘I have been putting the Kea through a
course of native berries as far as practicable. He likes
Coprosma best, but he never eats the seed, only the outside.
Konini (luchsia erorticata) will suit him, but he only eats it out

44 THE KEA.

of politeness—not with avidity. He declines the honey out of
the white and crimson koromiko (Veronica sp.), but Mr. King
[one of her Keas] used to love the flowers of V. huthiana and
V. Fairfieldii only next best to yellow kowhai, to which he
was as nearly devoted as to broad-leaf flowers. Even when no
flowers were out on the broad-leaf he could always be found
busy pecking at the bark of the branches, but I could
never find out what he got there. He disliked five-fingered
Jack in seed, but patronised the flowers, and was fond of
nipping off branches of it. There is a tall umbrella tree, with
Parsonsia climbing over it, up which he often spent a very
busy hour or two in spring, though I can’t say what he

MAORI ONION (Bulbenifera sp.).

was sucking. He never cared to go up at any other season.
Cabbage trees (Cordyline), matipos (Pittosporum), birches,
rangioras (Bachyglottis rangiora /, miki-miki (Cyathodes acerosa),
and New Zealand holly (Olearia ilicifolia) were never interfered
with, nor was Libertia grandiflora, but he always made a dart for
the mountain lily (Ranunculus Lyallii) and daisies /Celmisia
sp.), roots as soon as ever he was out of his cage. Mr King
never interfered with the English trees except one oak, and
he never could resist cherry trees when the fruit was ripe.
Lettuces ranked next in favour to dandelion (Varaxracuin
officinalis) roots, of which he was very fond, I think because
they reminded him of Maori onions (Bulbenifera sp.J, as he

HAUNTS AND HABITS. 45

always made a point of demolishing each plant we got. He
seemed to need roots for his digestion; he was never so
well when he did not have them two or three times a week.
The Keas always like the flax honey, though they don’t care
for the seeds. In fact, honey seems much more to their
taste than berries, except the Coprosma.”

The above accounts seem to me to give a fair idea of
the Kea’s food supply before it took to sheep-killing.

One can easily imagine him in spring and summer
fossicking in the cushiony vegetation of the sub-alpine
meadows for insect larve, or flying in and out of the bush
in search of honey and fruits; while in autumn and winter
he would be searching for insects among the crevices of
the rocks or eating the berries of the forest. Now that he
has taken to sheep-killing much of his spare time is used in
worrying the sheep, and in winter the mutton must make a
welcome addition to his scanty larder.

CHAPTER IV.

NESTING.

But o’er my isles the forest drew
A mantle thick—save where a peak
Shows his grim teeth a-snarl—and through
The filtered coolness creek and creek,
Tangled in ferns, in whispers speak.

And there the placid great lakes are,
And brimming rivers proudly force
Their ice-cold tides, Here, like a scar,
Dry-lipped, a withered watercourse
Crawls from a long-forgotten source.

—ArRTHUR H, ADAMS,

Though the Kea has become, during the last forty years,
the most notorious of all our New Zealand fauna, yet so
cunning was the bird, and so secluded was its retreat, that it
is only during the last few years that we have pierced the
uncertainty that hung around its home life, and have been
allowed to gaze with curious eye upon its nest.

The information concerning its home life that has come
to hand in recent years is quite in keeping with the
notoriety of the bird, and it can be safely said that its
breeding habits are the most striking and interesting of those
of our avifauna.

Were the Kea surrounded by countless enemies it could
not have chosen a more impregnable fortress in which to rear
its young; it is a veritable Gibraltar, and as such it usually
remains unmolested.

Not only is the country in which the Kea lives dangerous
as well as difficult to travel over, but it is in some of the
least inaccessible places in that almost inaccessible country,
high up in the mighty peaks, that the Kea makes its home.

I cannot improve upon the graphic description of the
Kea’s home given by Mr. T. H. Potts. “It breeds in the

46

NESTING. 47

deep crevices and fissures, which cleave and seam the sheer
faces of almost inaccessible cliffs, that in places bound as
with massive ramparts the higher mountains spurs. Sometimes,
but rarely, the agile musterer, clambering amongst these
rocky fastnesses, has found the entrance to the ‘run’ used
by the breeding pair, and has peered with curious glances,
tracing the worn track till its course has been lost in the
dimness of the obscure recesses, beyond the climber’s reach.

JACK’S HILL AND CHIMERA CREEK,
SHEWING THE PRECIPITOUS FACES IN WHICH THE KEA NESTS.

In these retreats the home or nesting place generally remains
inviolate, as its natural defences of intervening rocks defy the
efforts of human hands, unless aided by the use of heavy iron
implements that no mountaineer would be likely to employ.”’
Even if the ardent collector manages, with great care, to
reach the nest, and is able to obtain a foothold on the side
of the cliff, he will often find that a crowbar will make little
impression on the opening of the ‘‘run,’’ and nothing less

48 THE KEA.

than a charge of blasting powder would suffice to force an
entrance.

It is a mistake to suppose that the Kea builds always in
such inaccessible positions, though they seem to be the
favourite places. The choice is influenced to a large extent
by the nature of the surrounding country.

If the mountain sides are pierced by these long narrow
tunnels, running for many feet into the rock, these are
used; but, if they are not available, the Kea makes use of
whatever comes to hand, such as a cairn of stones or a hole
in a clay bank.

Even as late as 1882 its egg was unknown to science, and
Mr. Potts at that time said it was yet to be described. Even
to-day Kea’s eggs are scarce, and one collector has a standing
offer to pay £1 per egg.

Though there are several rough descriptions of Kea’s nests
already published, I have never seen a description that goes
into much detail; and, as far as I know, there were no
photographs of nests until those I got were secured.

In order to see a nest myself, and also to procure some
photographs of the tunnels in which the Kea builds, I made an
excursion up the Rakaia Gorge, into the heart of the
Southern Alps, in July of 1907.

Through the kindness of Mr. R. Urquhart, the manager
of the Mt. Algidus Station, I was able to make my
headquarters at that homestead, one of the centres of the
Kea-infested districts. In 1906 Mr. Urquhart had discovered
a nest in a gorge, and, as it was practically undamaged, he
had offered to lead me to the spot if I could pay hima
visit.

The day of our excursion was preceded by a night of
heavy hail and snow storms, which swept round the
homestead with terrific force. The morning broke wet and
gloomy, and the whole adjacent country was enveloped in
driving clouds and _ sleet. Nothing could be seen of the
mountain ranges that hemmed us in on every side, except
their wooded bases, over which torrents of muddy water
streamed down to the valley.

NESTING. 49

It was ideal weather to see the Kea, but certainly not
the weather one would have chosen for a long ride. on
horseback in order to take photographs on an open mountain
side.

We were away in good time; and, with my camera
protected with sacks, we slowly made our way over the
saddle that separated us from the Mathias River. We crossed
the summit in the face of a biting wind, and took the track
leading down to the river flat. This was steep and

3

WEN weae ov ee

NATURAL ENTRANCE TO A KEA RUN: THE HOLE GOES TEN
FEET INTO THE ROCK.

slippery, and it was only the surefootedness of the horses
that prevented nasty falls. Once down on to the river-bed, we
found the air less keen; but the sleet and low hanging clouds
made the scene lonely and depressing. ‘‘ Just the weather,”’
remarked Mr. Urquhart to me, ‘for the Keas to kill sheep.’’
For a long time we rode on, with the river on one side and

4—16

50 THE KEA.

the snow-clad Rolleston Range on the other, until we suddenly
came upon some proof of the Keas’ presence. On the ground
in front of us a fine merino ram lay dead, with a ghastly
hole torn in its back, and its neck stretched out as if it
had died in agony.

Having photographed it, we pushed on to where the
Chimera Creek joins the Mathias River; and here, tethering
our horses to the bushes, we commenced to climb the steep,
slippery side of Jack’s Hill.

The Chimera Creek flows almost through the centre of the
hill, and on its way has cut a deep narrow gorge, which is about
two hundred yards wide where the stream issues on to the
river flat. This gorge runs back for some miles towards the
centre of the range. On each side high and _ prependicular
cliffs shut out the sunlight, and, rising as they do from two
hundred to a thousand feet in height, they form a long, deep,
narrow gorge.

At last we came to the nest, which, fortunately for us,
was not in an altogether inaccessible position, but situated
in a long narrow tunnel, whose opening was in a small ravine
running at right angles to the top of the gorge and opening
over it.

It was situated on the top of the western cliff, but,
owing to the walls of rock rising sheer out of the bed
of the creek, we could not get a foothold anywhere ;
in order to reach it, we had to climb along the top of the
eliff. Owing to the thick drizzle that had now set in, and the
fact that the ground sloped to the edge of the gorge, we
had to take great care that we did not slip over into the dark
ravine below.

In August, 1906, while trying to destroy some Keas
that had been killing sheep for some time, Mr. Urquhart
discovered the nest and determined not only to rob it, but
at the same time to kill the old birds.

So one night, with several of his men, armed with spades
and crow-bars, he climbed along the edge of the cliff; but
owing to the darkness they were unable at first to lecate the
nest. As a last resource one of the men imitated the well-known

NESTING. 51

call of the Kea, and the little ones in the nest immediately
responded.

The opening of the ‘‘run’”’ in which the nest was situated
was thus found; yet, owing to the narrowness of the tunnel,
the men were still unable to reach the nest. However, with
the aid of a crowbar, a large rock was removed from the
entrance, and the young birds were captured. The mother bird
was killed, and the men put the little ones inside their shirts

‘

NATURAL ENTRANCE TO A KEA RUN: AFTER THE REMOVAL OF A
LARGE ROCK FROM THE ENTRANCE. FROM THIS NEST THE
FOUR YOUNG KEAS WERE TAKEN.

for warmth and safety, and they were thus carried back to
the station.

The father bird escaped; and, though Mr. Urquhart
returned the next day and stayed an hour or two about the
place, he did not catch a glimpse of him until, about to give
up the search in despair, he espied the old fellow watching in
artful silence from a_ tree, where he had been _ probably
perched throughout the proceedings. The bird earefully avoided
any closer acquaintance.

52 THE KEA.

As no one had been near the nest since then, it was
almost intact when we found it; and with the exception of
the stone removed from the entrance it was just as the birds
used it. To call their breeding place a nest is almost to use
a misnomer; for the birds choose a natural tunnel in the
rocks, one with a narrow opening, just wide enough to
allow them to pass in and out, and then place a few pieces
of tussock grass at the far end, where the female lays her
eggs.

Such was the one I saw. The tunnel or ‘“‘run” went
about six feet into the rock. The opening, after the removal
of the large stone, was in the shape of a triangle. The
distance from apex to base was fourteen inches, and
the base measured nineteen inches. I squeezed in as far
as I could, and found, on lighting a match, that the tunnel
narrowed as it approached the end, and here in the narrowest
part the nest was placed. This nest, at the time it was
robbed, contained four young birds.

On the opposite side of the small ravine were the remains
of another nest; but the opening was so narrow that I could
not get even my head in, and nothing less than dynamite
would have widened it. This hole was thirty inches deep
and thirteen inches across at its widest part, but it narrowed
rapidly as it left the surface. It ran back some ten feet into
solid rock and there again enlarged greatly.

After taking notes of both nests, I set to work to
photograph them; and not only was the situation awkward
owing to the proximity of the cliff, but our troubles were
augmented by the rain and mist, which owing to the lateness
of the afternoon made the light very feeble. However, as I
had come especially to obtain photographs of this phase of the
Kea’s life history, I fixed my camera up in the wet, and,
after consulting photometer, gave the plates nearly fifteen
minutes’ exposure.

Fortunately, on development the negatives came up well.
As already remarked, I think they are the first photographs
ever taken of a Kea’s nest.

While trying to trap some Keas on the Glenthorne
Homestead in January, 1908, Mr Edgar F. Stead was

NESTING. 53

fortunate enough to find a Kea’s nest, which he describes
as follows: ‘‘A bird came over and_ began calling, but
would not come near the traps, staying down by the male
bird we had caught the night before. I went back and saw
her, with tail spread and wings drooping, run to the edge of
a bluff and fly off into the ravine without a sound. I
guessed immediately that she had a nest, and as soon as there
was enough light we started looking for it. When we were
just giving up hope of finding it, and were going to turn the
male bird loose and follow him, we heard the female eall
away down in the bottom of a big rock slip, and I caught a
glimpse of her as she moved. MHurrying to the spot, we
found a lot of loose feathers and droppings, which indicated
the presence of a nest. We soon located it, in a long hole,
the entrance of which was formed by two enormous boulders,
which leaned against one another, forming a triangular space,
partly blocked by a third stone. This latter we removed by
using a thick vine as a rope, and after much scratching and
scraping I reached in, and striking a match, saw the bird on
her nest. More scraping and digging among the small stones
and earth, and again I reached in, but quickly withdrew my
hand, minus a small piece of the middle finger. I then
wrapped a handkerchief round my hand, and very soon had
the bird out. I handed her to Mr Murchison to hold, and
she immediately took a piece out of his coat and clawed him
pretty thoroughly, but my attention was on the nest, and, to
my joy, I found four pure white eggs. They were laid on
the ground among a few chips of rotton wood and bark, about
five feet from the entrance of the hole.

‘*More than satisfied with our night’s work, we returned to
the Lake, and that afternoon H. and myself, with many thanks
for the hospitality and assistance we had received, left for the
Point, en route for home.”’

As the Kea is really king of the Alps, and drives all the
other birds away from its domain, it is difficult to explain
the reason why it chooses such a stronghold for its nest. It
is only of late years that the weasels and stoats, introduced
from Europe, have made their way up to the snow line, and

54 THE KEA.

I doubt if these rodents would be a match for an infuriated
Kea.

The most likely reason is, I think, that nesting as they do ina
season of fierce storms and cold weather, and their young having
to stay for some months in the nest, the parent birds are
forced to choose a place where the young may be kept
warm and dry.

The Kea’s breeding season commences about June and is
continued on to September or even later. The usual time for
the eggs to be laid is in July, though some say that eggs
have been seen in June. This is, however, the exception
rather than the rule. I think it is one of the most striking
and interesting facts in New Zealand ornithology that the
Kea, living in alpine country, where the severity of the
winter is especially felt, builds its nest, lays its eggs, hatches
and rears its young, all during the severest months of the
winter. During this time, its domain is swept by a succession
of severe storms of cold wind, accompanied by snow, which
covers the ground many inches deep for months; and, when
the sky is clear, very severe frosts set in, which turn every-
thing into a solid frozen mass.

That some birds in warm countries nest in the winter is
known; but that a bird should rear its young in winter,* at
an altitude of from 3,000 to 5,000 feet, in a country where even
near the sea level the other birds dare not nest until the
spring comes is, to say the least, most extraordinary.
Again, not only must the parents have a_ difficulty in
finding food for themselves among the often frozen
surroundings, but at this most difficult time of the year
they have to supply extra food for their young.

So far I have heard of no good reason why the Kea
should nest in midwinter, and I know of none, unless it be
to enable the young to be fully developed before the severe
weather again comes round.

*The fact that Mr. E. F. Stead found a-nest with eggs early in January, 190s,
seems to show that the birds may nest at any time of the year, the choice
depending largely on the severity of the seasons and the time when the severe
storms occur.

NESTING.

O1
Oo

The eggs, of which as many as four have been found in
one nest, are naturally rare and difficult to obtain. They
are about the size of the egg of a domestic pigeon, and in
appearance are white, with rough shell and no markings.

4

KEA EGGS.

Through the kindness of Dr. B. Moorhouse, Christchurch,
I am able to take notes from six eggs in his collection.
The results are given in the following table :—
Long Broad

Length Breadth Circum. Circum.

Gms e.m Gin: c.m.
Rangitata Gorge 4°8 4°0) 14°5 11 (maximum)
Rakaia Gorge A. A? 3°4 BES 10°5 (minimum)
af coe Se Ae 3°5 11.5 10°4
n od (G: 4-4 DEO WI LOT
Mt. Cook A. 4°5 3°4 12°0 10°38
m yas A°5 3°4 L220 10°5
Average 4°43 3:45 L229 10°57

The eggs vary somewhat in shape and size, as can be seen
from the above table, but otherwise there seems to be very
little difference.

The young birds stay in the nest for an exceptionally long
time. One correspondent states that he found young ones
in September and took them out of the nest in December ; and

56 THE KEA.

from all accounts they seem to stay until they are nearly full
grown.

The young Kea’s cry somewhat resembles that of the fully
grown bird, but it is weaker and very plaintive. The fledglings’
one drawback as pets is that, even when kept in clean apartments,
they have a most objectionable odour.

Mr. Urquhart was good enough to send me two _ live
Kea nestlings from Mt. Algidus, and I was therefore able

From a drawing, Buller’s ‘* Birds of New Zealand.’

NESTLING KEAS.,

to see for myself these interesting birds at this stage of
their development.

They were about two months old when I received them
at Christchurch, but, though they were nearly the size of a
small pigeon, they were quite unable to move about or feed
themselves. Their wings were fairly strong, and were
sometimes flapped when food was given to them. Their
legs were large, yet they seemed devoid of capacity for
muscular action, and were never used. Indeed, so helpless

NESTING. 57

were they that when being photographed they did not
stir from the position in which they were placed. They
kept very healthy, and had an ever-increasing appetite for
food. Since their capture, nearly two months before, they
had been fed on strips of kidney, which had to be poked
down their capacious throats with a small stick.

The following is a description taken two months after
hatching :—

HEAD.—Beak : Upper mandible large and black in colour,
with the exception of a slight tinge of yellow on the top of
the arch. It is neither so long nor so curved as that of the
adult bird. Lower mandible of a_ yellow colour, except the

NESTLING KEA.

tip, which is black. The wattle around the nostrils is
plentiful and of a light yellow colour. The mouth large,
with a drooping sac-like structure on each side of the angle of
the beak, which stretches for some distance towards the tips
of the mandible. (These sacs were very conspicuous, being
composed of a yellow material, closely resembling wattle, and
their function seems to be to prevent the food tumbling out
of the mouth; for when the beak is open the two saes are
stretched across the gape of the mouth, and form a= safe
passage for the food to pass down.)

BODY.—Most of the body, except under the wings, is
covered with short quills or feathers. Those expanded
resemble the adult plumage, being dark green, fringed with
dark brown. The large feathers of the wings and tail are just

58 THE KEA.

coming out of their quills. The legs are large, dark grey in
eolour, with black claws, very weak in muscular action, and
at present useless. The body and head are still to a large
extent covered with long light grey down, which, however, is
fast disappearing.

The larger bird was able, after a few days, to swallow
food by itself, but the smaller one still required the food to
be poked down its throat.

The suggestion has been made that, owing to the
continued change of diet in the Kea, the taste for meat
has become hereditary, and in proof of this it is stated that
young Keas only a few days old have been known to eat
meat.

As far as I can ascertain there is at present no proof in
support of the suggestion; for, though young Keas can be
nourished for some time on meat, this in itself does not prove
that the taste for it is natural.

Other eases are known where birds have taken readily to
a new diet and yet heredity could have had no influence in
the matter.

Through the kindness of Dr. Cockayne and Mr. E. Jennings
I am able to publish the following incident :—

While they were on a tour of the Southern Islands of
New Zealand in the Government steamer ‘‘ Hinemoa,’”’ in
1904, a specimen of the flightless duck (Nesonetta Auchklandica)
was captured and brought alive to Dunedin. From the time
of its capture it was fed solely on bread and milk, which it
seemed to take to readily. Now, this duck is found only
on the Auckland Islands, where it feeds on crustaceans, etc.,
which are found among the rocks and the kelp (Durvillea)
of the sea shore.

These islands are uninhabited, and are practically never
visited by any. ship except the Government steamer
‘ Hinemoa,’’ which pays them a semi-annual visit.

It can almost be taken for certain that this particular
bird had never seen bread, much less tasted it; and yet
when caught, it at once took to this new food, so
entirely different from its natural supply.

NESTING. 59

Mr. C. V. Rides, of the Acclimatisation Gardens,
Christchurch, in a letter to me on the native birds, says
that when kept in eaptivity they change their character
to a large extent, and the wild duck, whose natural food is
largely young green shoots and herbs and any small fresh-
water animals available, prefers cakes and buns to the usual
wheat and maize.

If birds, as in the cases cited, take readily to new food,
it seems to me that the mere fact that the young Keas will
eat meat does not in any way prove that the taste has
become hereditary.

CHAPTER V.

Living, real, alert for charm or evil,
Hurrying in every breeze,—aud haunting,
Heavy-winged, the vistas of the forest.

—ArtTHUR H. ADAMS.

The Kea may be a marked bird throughout the whole
Dominion; it may ravage the flocks and bring dismay to
the sheep farmer; but for all this there can be no gainsaying
the fact that it is a most lively and interesting companion.
In places where it has not been too much harassed by the Kea-
hunter it shows little fear of man, and the traveller can
always depend on an hour or two of amusement whenever
the bird appears. When one is camping out among the
ranges, the birds often come round and amuse themselves
at the traveller’s expense. They seem to take the whole
oversight of the preparations for camp; they investigate the
camp fire; they pull the cooking utensils about; they test
the strength of the tent ropes; and, if not driven away, they
will seatter the contents of the ‘‘swag’’ far and wide.

Indeed, you can never suffer from ennui while they
remain with you; for, while you are driving one away from
your tent, another will be trying his beak on the coat that
you have hung up on a tree for safety. With their merry eyes,
and their shining coats, their perky ways, and their tameness
and extreme inquisitiveness, they are welcome and unwelcome
at the same time.

The Kea is one of the most inquisitive birds imaginable,
and, indeed, it is this trait in his character that has partly
brought about his downfall.

Keas make a loud din when together; and, when one is
camping out, their incessant screeching and calling are a

60

AT PLAY. 61

perfect nuisance in the early mornings, sleep being often
impossible.

However, the trouble does not stop there: they will often
pay a visit of inspection to the tent, and keep one on the
qui vive as to what new mischief they will do. Perhaps
you hear them rattling the cooking untensils about. That is
the merest trifle; but, when they begin to tear the tent,

KEAS AT PLAY: INVESTIGATING A CAMP,

there is nothing to do but to get up and strike camp as
soon as possible.

An experienced Kea-hunter says :—‘‘There is something
freakish about the Kea. You have got to the high tops, and
perhaps have rested on a rock, keenly alert for any sign
of your quarry. There is no indication of a Kea_ being
within a mile of you, but after you have started again and
look back, there is a Kea on the very spot that you have
just left. Where it comes from is a mystery you don’t
pretend to solve. But this is the Kea’s way: sometimes it
will shriek to let you know that it is near at hand; at
other times it will silently appear by your side, coming
apparently from nowhere.”

62 THE KEA.

They seem to be exceptionally lively around the Ball Hutt
Mt. Cook, in the early morning, for numbers of tourists
complain of their noise.

Mr. Fitzgerald, in his book ‘‘Climbing in the New
Zealand Alps,’’ deseribes them thus:—‘The Kea parrots
disturbed our sleep that night by walking up the iron roof,
and (to judge from the sounds) tobogganing down and falling
off the edge, with shrieks of terror and rage.”’

Several people have actually seen them tobogganing
down the corrugated iron roofs,—sliding down on feet and
tail, following one another in line, falling off when they
reach the edge of the roof, and then flying away with
shrieks of delight.

Dr. F. W. Hilgendorf gives the following instances of
their quaint ways:—‘‘The Kea occurs in large numbers, up
to forty-five being seated on the roof of the Ball Hut at one
time, and I myself saw them every morning that I stayed
there.

‘“‘There is one that always comes round when any visitors
arrive. The hut is built on a little stone platform, and,
when boots are put there to dry, the Kea always pulls them
off and throws them over the platform, rolling them with his
head from behind, if they are too heavy to pull with his
beak. He will even go into the hut and pull boots out from
there. He has also been seen to roll stones down a _ hill,
apparently with the object of watching their fall.

‘“ All the Keas about the hut exhibit great curiosity, and
when an alarm clock went off in the building they gathered
round shrieking at the top of their voices. When a rag was
thrown to them, about six of them would swarm on to it
and pull it to pieces; but they still more delight in pulling
out the packing of a saddle or any other object which
presents sufficient resistance.

‘“They even settled on the backs of the horses that are
taken to the Ball Hut, four or five getting on the back of
one horse, clawing and scratching there until the horse kicks
up and drives them away.”’

They are not so tame now as they were in the early days

AT PLAY. 63

but their curiosity is so great that, if anything takes their
fancy, they come and inspect it, and talk to one another and
shake their heads like a group of solemn judges.

Mr. Fitzgerald gives an interesting instance which he
noted when on Mt. Cook. ‘‘ They were so tame,’’ he says,
“‘that, if you sat down quietly for a few minutes and held
up any bright object that glittered in the sun, they would
come and hop all over you, curiosity apparently being their
strongest characteristic. . . . . . On this present occasion

A KEA: Own THE BALL GLACIER.

their chief interest seemed to centre on a_ nickel-plated
drinking cup, which I had laid on the rocks close by to dry.

“They are of an inquisitive nature, and did not rightly
gather what the shiny object might be meant for; so _ they
came [up in line and circled round it, one or two of the
bolder spirits even pecking at it.

‘‘This evidently did not satisfy them, so they retired to a
neighbouring rock, and gathered in a group to consult, which
meant a tremendous screeching and jabbering.

64 THE KEA.

“Tt is the manner of Keas to gather together thus and
talk to one another in a way which seems quite comprehensible
to themselves.

‘“We threw stones at them to try and make them shift
their quarters, but this only had the effect of bringing them
back to renew their investigation. Finally we stopped their
hideous clamour by hiding the drinking cup, whereupon they
slowly dispersed with an injured air.’’

Not only do they worry and plague the traveller while
he is in camp, but they often follow him up a mountain as
though loth to see the last of him. Mr. A. P. Harper gives
the following amusing incident in his book.

‘‘Byver since sunrise I have been the object of considerable
attention from some Keas.

‘““At first there were only two or three, but afterwards
their numbers increased to fifteen or more. They joined me
on the south side of the Fox Glacier, and annoyed me
considerably by their inquisitiveness, while I was taking some
bearings and photographs, one of them alighting on my back
as I was looking at my compass. When crossing the
Chancellor Ridge, the Keas that I referred to followed me
on the wing; but, owing to the ice being very slippery, my
progress was too slow for them; therefore, alighting on the
ice, they began to follow me on foot.

‘‘Whenever a Kea makes its appearance we are prepared
for some good fun, as their antics are most ludicrous, and
their conversation, which is incessant, is almost expressive
enough to enable one to understand what they mean. I have
had considerable experience with these birds, but have never
seen such an extremely funny proceeding as on this particular
morning.

“The Keas, having settled on the ice, began to follow in
a long straggling line, about fifteen of them. They have a
preternaturally solemn walk, but when in a hurry they hop
along on both feet, looking very eager and very much in
earnest. To see these fifteen birds hopping along behind in a
string, as if their lives depended on keeping me in sight,
was ridiculously comic.

ol PEAY? 65

‘*“The ice was undulating, with little valleys and hummocks,
and the birds would now for a second or two disappear in
a hollow and now show on a hummock, pause a moment,
and then hop down again out of sight into the next hollow.

‘‘To judge by their expressions and manners they were in
a great state of anxiety on emerging from a hollow to a
hummock as to whether I was still there. Now and_ then
the one in front would appear craning his neck, and, on
seeing me still ahead, would turn round and shriek ‘ Ke-a,’
as much as to say ‘It is all right, boys; come along,’ and
the others, putting their heads down, would set their teeth,
or rather their beaks, and travel for all they knew, a fat
one in the rear evidently making heavy weather of it.’’

They seem to be ever on the look-out for mischief; and,
when a good joke is in view, they take good care not to
lose it.

A story is told of a dog that was lying asleep near a
hut, when several Keas came down, and (evidently bent on
mischief) walked round him, laying their plans.

The boldest Kea then crept up and bit the dog’s tail,
thus causing him to wake up and growl; but hardly was
his head laid down on the ground again when Kea number
two had a pull.

This went on for some time, until at last the dog got
tired of it, and retired growling to the verandah.

Their playfulness, though amusing, often becomes a great
nuisance, as they can do a lot of damage in a very short
time.

The late Mr. Potts is responsible for the following story.
“On one occasion a hut was shut up, as the shepherd was
elsewhere required for a day or two. On _ returning he was
surprised to hear something moving within the hut, and on
entering he found that it proceeded from a Kea which had
gained access by the chimney; this socially-disposed bird had
evidently endeavoured to dispel the ennui attendant on
solitude by exercising its powerful mandibles most
industriously. Blankets, bedding, and clothes were grieviously
rent and torn; pannikins and plates were scattered about ;

o> —16

66 THE KEA.

everything that could be broken was apparently broken very
earefully ; even the window frames had been attacked with
great diligence.”’

Another case is told of these birds and their love of fun,
or mischief, as the case may be.

‘On a back country sheep run, a mule, packed with a
full load of stores and sundries for one of the out-stations,
was peacefully pursuing its way, when on a sudden a Kea
perched on the neck of the animal. The unexpected arrival
was too much for the gravity of the mule; startled from its

READY FOR MISCHIEF: Brownine Pass.

accustomed demure and patient demeanour, it plunged and
kicked till it had freed itself from the Kea as well as its
well-packed burden.’’

A shepherd from the back country says that ‘‘ Tents
get a fair amount of attention from the Kea. I have left
a tent in the morning in good order and condition; and
when I returned, at the end of the day’s muster, I have found
it torn beyond repair, and the birds seemed to be quite

AT PLAY. 67

enjoying the fun. Clothes hung out to dry at the shepherds’
huts or camp often get torn up, coloured clothes more than
white. I, along with two or three other men at a musterer’s
camp, saw a Kea take a piece the size of its beak out of a
turkish towel, with one peck, almost as clean as it could
have been done with a pair of scissors. The towel was
almost a new one, so that you will have an idea of the
strength of the beak.’’

A botanist was one day working among the ranges, and
for convenience’ sake left a bundle of precious specimens on
a rock. A Kea that must have had a decided taste for
botany began to investigate; and when the man returned he
found that the whole of his rare collection had been tumbled
down the precipice, far beyond recovery.

Not only do they play most outrageous pranks, but they
often display a good deal of method in their madness.

One of my correspondents gave me _ the following
instance :—‘‘To show you how tame and inquisitive a Kea is;
I was one day resting on a hill when one perched on my
shoulder. I caught him and put him ina_ box an inch thick,
but he cut it through by the morning and got out. I then
chained him with a dog’s chain, with a leather strap round
his leg. The Kea would run the iron chain through his
beak until he got to the leather, and then with a_ stroke or
two of his beak he cut it right through.’’

Mr. Kinsey of Christchurch, narrates the following
eurlous incident concerning the Keas at Mt. Cook
Hermitage :—

Wishing to take some live Keas to town, he had several
placed in a wooden box; and, in order to secure them, he
placed several fairly large stones on the top of the cage.
His daughter some time afterwards found that the stones had
been removed, so, after putting them on again, she went and
told her father. He, however, knew nothing about their
removal; but by keeping watch he was able to discover the
culprits.

Through his field glasses, he saw several birds alight on

68 THE KEA.

the box, and by dint of pushing, with their heads down,
they were able to roll the stones off.

Whether it was done for fun, as the birds have been
known to do at the Hermitage, or whether it was done as
an attempt to rescue their imprisoned mates, I am_ not
prepared to say.

At the shepherd’s hut at the Mt. Algidus Station there
was a tame Kea, who kept the inmates from becoming dull
by the mischief into which he was always getting. What he
loved most of all was to creep into the kitchen, when the
cook was absent, and try all the tempting dishes on the
table. He would sample the butter, put his feet into the
milk, take a mouthful of jam, upset the sugar-basin, and
would usually end up by walking into the treacle pot. When
he heard the cook returning he would make a dash for the
door, and, as his feet were more or less gripped by the
treacle, he would upset the pot and leave the table in a
state of chaos. At other times he would interfere with the
bread and try the meat, but, as soon as he saw the cook’s
hand steal towards the long-handled broom, the bird almost
fell over himself in his anxiety to get to the door. Outside
he worried the kittens and fowls, and once while playing
with a ball of string he got so tangled up that he had _ to
be helped to get free.

The birds make very interesting pets, but are very noisy
and destructive, and they need a very strong cage in which
to confine them.

Though very tame and inquisitive, they are not so easily
caught in their wild state as one would imagine. To give a
good idea of this I cannot do better than quote from a
short article by Mr. E. F. Stead, of Christchurch, who has
devoted much splendid practical investigation to the bird life
of New Zealand. He gives the following graphic account :—

“The call bird, which had never been in a small cage
before, and was very wild when we first put her in the
evening before, had got quite used to the surroundings, and had
learned how to hang on with her feet and beak, so that she
was not knocked about when being carried. It is marvellous

AT PLAY. 69

how quickly a Kea will adapt itself to circumstances. This
particular bird, after I had carried her on my back for five
or six hours, got so accustomed to the motion that she
would eall softly to herself, or eat strawberries out of my
hand as we went along. If the climbing was rough and the
cage was temporarily upside down, she would brace herself
with feet and beak, and quietly wait until she was _ righted.
So quiet, indeed, did she become, and so docile, that we

UP TO MISCHIEF: A K®EaA PLAYING WITH A CAMERA BAG,
ON THE Fox GLACIER,

ealled her Angela. . . . . We chose a_ rocky promontory,
with a stunted birch on the end of it, for our traps, as it
commanded a fine view of the gully and could be seen from
our camp.

‘“‘Here we set our traps, and, it being already dark, we
returned to camp for the night.

“One of the call birds we kept in a _ wire-netting run
near the tent, and also in sight of the bird up by the traps.
The advantage of this was that if our distant bird saw
others early in the morning, and began calling, the bird at
camp would answer and wake us up.

70 THE KEA.

‘“At about half past four next morning our ornithological
alarm went off, and I got up and hurried up the mountain
side. When half way up to the traps, I heard a_ wild
screaming behind me, and looking round saw him sailing
over me from across the gully. Almost immediately two
others further up answered, and all three presently arrived at
the traps. They were a pair and an old male bird, and I
sat quietly among the tussocks a few yards away, waiting
for them to rush joyfully into the traps after the meat.
But not a bit of it; after thoroughly inspecting ‘Angela’
and her cage, and bestowing a casual glance at the traps,
they came over and subjected me to a searching scrutiny.

‘Finding that I was an object of interest to them, I
moved nearer to the traps and tried in vain to call their
attention to the dainty viands displayed therein. It was no
use. If I sat quite still they went over and had a chat
with ‘Angela,’ sitting on the roof of her cage the while;
if I moved they hopped blithely round me and my ways.
The place they did not hop on was the space covered by the
traps.

‘““As they came quite fearlessly to within a few feet of
me, I decided to try and snare them, so I went into a little
clump of bush near by and got a rod and a piece of fine
ereeper for a noose. The Keas accompanied me, hopping
round in the trees above my head while I cut the stock and
prepared my snare. Having got everything ready, I returned
to the promontory, and squatted quietly down under a big
boulder.

‘“Almost instantly a head appeared over the edge above
me, and the owner of it gave a quiet little call. Another
head appeared, and another, and then, within three feet of
me, the birds sat and watched me with a whole world of
curiosity in their bright little eyes. Gently I raised the
snare and brought it towards the middle one. He took no
notice until it was almost over his head and then he quietly
took it on his beak and began chewing it.

“Realising that I could not snare them, I went half-way
down the hill and ealled to H. to bring up a coil of wire-netting

AT PLAY. 71

that we had. This we used to make a little run, at the
entrance of which we placed ‘Angela’ in her cage, hoping
that we could drive the wild birds into it, but half-an-hour’s
vain endeavour convinced us of the futility of this scheme.

“Then I decided that I would return to camp for a camera,
so that I could photograph the birds, even though unable to
capture them. I descended via a shingle slide, and the noise
of the stones rattling down with me attracted the birds, which
accompanied me down to camp, and when I got back with the
camera only one had returned. The sun had by this time
risen over the mountain behind us, and the day was bright and
hot. Everything was propitious for good pictures, but before |
had the camera ready the bird flew screeching up the gully.
Very disappointed and hot, we returned to camp.

“That evening at four o’clock we again climbed to the
traps. Shortly after our arrival we saw a bird, and I called it
down, when it proved to be the unattached male of the
morning, readily distinguished by the state of his moult. We
set a trap out on the ledge of a rock, evening up the surface
with small stones. The bird came down, and taking the stones
one by one, dropped them over the edge. Next, standing
well outside the trap, he began chewing one of the sticks, with
the result that the cage fell down. It was very laughable,
but it scared the Kea, and he flew away; nor did we _ see
him again.’’

CHAPTER VI.

EARLY RECORDS.

Like a black hawk swooping

I shall whirl upon the Southern Island,
Sweep it with my name as with a tempest,
Overrun it like a play of sunlight,

Sigh across it like a flame, till Terror
Runs before me shrieking!

—ArTHUR H, ADAmMs.

It was not until about ten years after the discovery of the
Kea that the bird began to acquire the bad habit that has
since been its downfall and can end only in its complete
extermination. From being one of the least known of our
avifauna, its name soon became a by-word throughout the
Dominion, and its specific cognomen (notabilis) became only
too appropriate.

When killing sheep for home consumption, on the Lake
Wanaka Station, North-West Otago, in 1867, the shepherds
noticed from time to time what they took to be a new disease
on the loins of the animals; and during shearing in 1868
these mysterious scars were again observed.

On close examination the supposed disease revealed
severe wounds in different stages of healing or festering.

On some sheep there was merely a patch of bare skin, but
on others there was either a half-healed wound or a raw patch
of festering flesh, while others again had each a _ large
hole torn in the side, from which the entrails were often
protruding.

Many a long discussion was held as to who the culprit
could be, but no one could thrown any light on the mystery.
One man did suggest that the Kea might be the author of the
damage, but he was ridiculed so unmercifully that he
thought it wise not to repeat his suggestion.

72

EARLY RECORDS. 73

Suspicion fell at once on the Black-back Gull (Larus
dominicanus), and the Harrier Hawk (Circus Gouldi), but
it was soon pointed out that it was only the sheep of the
alpine country that were attacked, while the gulls and hawks
scoured the plains as well as the mountains.

It was a well-known fact that the gulls would pick at the
eyes of a very young lamb, or even of a sheep, when it had
fallen, but they had never been known to attack the sheep
over the loin, in the manner of the unknown culprit.

Wild dogs were next suggested, but they were then
practically unknown, and the fact that there were never any
injuries found on the sheep, except those on the loin went to
prove that the sheep could not have been pulled down and
worried by dogs.

About this time the suggestion that the Kea might be
the culprit was strengthened by the fact that the bird had
been seen picking the refuse around the meat gallows.

Some poisoned mutton was spread out in a likely place,
and soon the Keas were observed to come down and devour it
so greedily that in a short time their dead bodies were lying
around their unfinished meal.

This experiment gave the clue as to the direction in
which investigation must be made in order to solve the
mystery; and at once Mr. Campbell (of Lake Wanaka Station)
ordered his men to keep a sharp look-out when working in
high country. Not long after this, these suspicions were
substantiated by the observations of Mr. James McDonald, at
that time head shepherd at Lake Wanaka Station, and now a
sheep-farmer at Dipton, Southland. Through the kindness of
Professor Benham, of Dunedin, I am able to give Mr. McDonald’s
own description of the first recorded case of sheep killing by
Keas. He thus described what he saw :—

‘“‘T do not know whether I was the first to see the Kea
attack sheep, but I was the first to report it to Mr. Henry
Campbell, of Wanaka Station. . . . . In 1868 my orders
were to go all over the run after the snowfall and see that
the sheep were evenly distributed over the ground, that no
hill or spur had more sheep on it than it could well carry.

74 THE KEA.

While I was at this work, the snow being about 2ft. deep, I
went out to the tops; in a small basin under the top on the
west side, facing a rocky country that we called ‘Skay,’
there was a mob of sheep snowed in and unable to get out.

MR. JAMES McDONALD, Drpron, SourHianp.

There I saw the Kea at work. He would come down from
the rocks, settle on a sheep’s loin, and peck into the sheep,
which would run through the mob; but the bird stuck to
the sheep all the time till he got a piece out of it;
then he would fly to the rocks. I watched the bird at this
work and did not disturb him until I was fully satisfied.
Then I went down to the station and reported to Mr.

—————

EARLY RECORDS. 75

Campbell. He would not credit me, and all hands on the
station refused to believe that the birds would do it; so I
was ordered to go to another hill, called the Black Hill, and
Mr. Campbell came with me, and some more men, and at the
first mob we came to Mr. Campbell and the rest saw the
Keas at work.”’

It seems to me to be a great pity that the early writers on
this question did not take the trouble to get authenticated
evidence; for, if this had been done, much of the confusion
and uncertainty as to the Kea’s real habits would have been
prevented.

However, instead of obtaining the above evidence from Mr.
McDonald, which would, at least, have recorded the names
of two men who had actually seen the Kea killing sheep,
most early writers make use of an indefinite extract which
appeared in the ‘‘Otago Daily Times,’’ an extract which,
though correct in itself, was not at all conclusive. It runs as
follows :—

‘“For the last three years the sheep belonging to a settler,
Mr. Henry Campbeil, in the Wanaka district (Otago),
appeared affected with what was thought to be a new kind of
disease; neighbours and shepherds were equally unable to
account for it, not having seen anything of the kind before.
The first appearance of this supposed disease is a patch of
raw flesh on the loin of the sheep, about the size of a man’s
hand; from this, matter continually runs down the side,
taking the wool completely off the part it touches; and in
many cases death is the result. At last a shepherd noticed
one of the mountain parrots sticking to a sheep, picking
at the sore, and the animal seemed unable to get rid
of its tormentor. The runholder gave directions to keep
watch on the parrots when mustering on the high ground;
the result has been that, during the present season, when
mustering high up on the ranges near the sky-line, they saw
several of the birds surrounding a sheep, which was freshly
bleeding from a small wound over the loin; on other sheep
were noticed places where the Kea had begun to attack them,
small pieces of woo! having been picked out.”’

76 THE KEA.

Though this record casts very grave suspicion on the
Kea, it does not by any means prove that the Kea was the
culprit.

In the first instance, the bird is stated to have been seen
merely picking at a sore on a sheep’s back, just as to-day
starlings are commonly seen at the same task; and to
say that this proves that the sheep was being killed by the
Keas is putting more weight on the evidence than it
will bear.

In the second instance it is stated that the shepherds saw
several Keas ‘‘surrounding’’ (notice, not ‘“‘attacking’’ nor
‘“necking’’) a wounded sheep, and, with the uncertainty which
existed at that time as to the true culprit, it might easily
have turned out that some other animal had wounded the
sheep and the Keas had only been attracted by its struggles.

This latter account, and not Mr. McDonald’s, was
unfortunately the one that was published in standard books
on our avifauna; and it has been partly responsible for many
years of arguing and disagreement between the sheep-owners
and scientific men.

However, though nearly fifty years have passed since the
record was first published, there has not been one thorough-going
attempt to enquire into the case; and, up to the end of 1905,
this is the only definite case recorded where a man actually
saw a Kea picking at a live sheep. Of course many articles
have been written, both in magazines and _ scientific works,
but I cannot find one writer who says that he ever saw a
Kea attack a sheep, nor is the name of any man given who
said that he had seen the bird at work.

It has been since proved that there were, and are at the
present time, many men who have been eye-witnesses of the
birds’ depredations, but from the records available in 1905
not one could be found. It seems a great pity that writers
should publish on such meagre evidence, as though it were an
indisputably proved fact, the statement that the Kea has
become not only carnivorous, but also a bird of prey.

I think I am justified in saying that all the literature
published, up to 1905, stating that the Kea was guilty of the

EARLY RECORDS. UH

crime, had given to the world, as a_ substantiated fact,
a statement that had not been satisfactorily proved.

If there is anything that ought to be most conclusively
proved it is a statement of alleged scientific fact, and as long
as investigators continue to publish, as true, half-proved
theories, only error and confusion can be the result.

As might be expected from such unsatisfactory evidence,
later investigation does not always uphold the conclusions
so hastily reached by early writers.

It is rather surprising to find that no one questioned the
weight of the evidence until 1905, when Dr. L. Cockayne, the
retiring President of the Canterbury Philosophical Institute,
while reading a paper ‘“‘On some little known Country in the
Waimakariri District,’’ made the following statement :—

‘““I have never seen it [the Kea] attack sheep, nor have I
ever met with anyone, shepherd, musterer, or mountain
traveller, who has done so; the most that my enquiries have
elicited is that sheep are found from time to time with holes
in their backs, and that Keas have been seen hovering round
sheep.”’

A very warm discussion followed this rather unexpected
statement, for people had begun to believe that there could be
no doubt about the matter of the Kea killing sheep ; but, when
they found on enquiry that practically no authentic evidence
could be found among the records, they naturally became
very sceptical.

Dr. Cockayne and his supporters did not, as many people
state, say that the Kea was innocent, but that at that time the
recorded evidence was quite insufficient to prove the bird’s
guilt.

Let us run through the most conclusive recorded evidence,
and see on what flimsy and unscientific reasons the bird’s guilt
had been declared proved.

About the year 1871, Mr. T. H. Potts condemned the Kea,
but on what appears to be hearsay evidence only. He writes
as follows :—‘‘ Through the kind offices of Mr. Robt. Wilkin,
the writer has been greatly assisted with valuable notes,
acquired by sheep-farmers, owners of stations, shepherds,

78 THE KEA.

bi)

ete. Unfortunately he does not state that any of his
informants ever saw a Kea at work or whether the notes were
merely the sheep-station rumours, of which a bookful could
be collected to-day.

I fully believe that many of Mr. Potts’s correspondents
were eye-witnesses of the Kea’s depredations, but in finding
the truth we cannot take supposed facts to be authentic
evidence.

In 1978 the Hon. D. Menzies, in a paper on the Kea,
wrote as if certain of the bird’s guilt, but he gives no authority
for his statement.

In a book entitled ‘‘The History of the Birds of New
Zealand,’’ Sir Walter Buller gives a fairly complete description
of the bird and its habits, and also an illustration of a Kea
attacking a sheep, but again one searches in vain for the name
of actual eye-witnesses. There is mention made of a shepherd
who saw a Kea attacking some sheep while he was driving
them, but no name was given; and, as nothing is known of
the man, the evidence dwindles away to nothing.

There is, however, a correct description of the method of
the Kea’s attack (forwarded to Sir W. Buller by Mr. J. G.
Shrimpton), but its writer does not state that he ever saw
the bird killing or attacking flocks.

In 1884 Reischeck wrote an article on the Kea, but, though
he saw them eating the carecases, and also found wool and
fat in their crops, he never saw one attack a sheep.

Mr. C. C. Huddlestone, in 1891, gave an account of his
experiences in Kea country, and strongly condemned the bird,
but he himself never saw the bird in the act of murdering.

In 1894 Mr. Taylor White accused the bird of sheep
killing, but yet does not seem to have been an eye-witness.
He bases his conclusions on hearsay, for he says :—‘‘One day
my brother John came home and said that he knew what
caused the holes in the backs of the sheep. It was done by
the Kea. This surprised me greatly, but I soon afterwards
had evidence of the fact myself, for when some of these
birds had once found out that blood of the sheep was good
for food, others were initiated into the performance.”’

EARLY RECORDS. 9)

What Mr. White or his brother saw is not recorded, and
I think that, if a Kea had been seen attacking a sheep, that
fact would almost certainly have been included in the paper.
[ have since had a letter from Mr. T. White, in which he
states that he never saw a Kea attack a sheep.

In February, 1906, at a meeting of runholders held at
Culverden, some strong remarks were made about the loss of
sheep caused by the Kea, and the Wellington Philosophical
Society was ridiculed for upholding the statement that at the
present time the recorded evidence against the Kea was not
sufficient to condemn it. However, in spite of all their talk,
only one speaker was reported to have seen the Kea attacking
sheep. The rest all spoke from hearsay, and I have since
received a letter from the reported eye-witness, stating that
the newspaper had misrepresented his remarks, for he had
not said any such thing at the meeting. This meeting was
the means of leading many people to believe in the Kea’s
guilt; and yet, when the evidence there available was sifted,
not one man had seen the Kea in the act of attacking.

This is the pith of the recorded evidence up to the end
of 1905, and, in spite of all that has been written on the
subject, I was unable to find the name of one writer who
said that he had seen the bird attacking sheep.

Though the evidence of eye-witnesses was lacking, the
circumstantial evidence was very strong, and may be classed
as follows:—

I. Against the Kea :—
a. The account of the Wanaka shepherds.

b. Only where Keas were known to live were the
sheep wounded after the Kea’s method. Where
they were unknown, no instance of this special
kind of sheep-killing had been seen.

e. If sheep had been killed, and the birds in that
place were shot, the killing at that place ceased.

d. Keas had been seen to fly off the bodies of
sheep, and wool and fat had been found in their
crops.

80 THE KEA.

e. Some Keas in captivity would eat meat, fat,
skins, ete.

At first sight this evidence seems quite conclusive enough
to condemn the Kea, but we must remember _ that
circumstantial evidence can never by itself prove a_ scientific
fact.

To see how far we can err from the truth by depending
on this kind of proof, we have only to go back to the
days of supposed witchcraft and note how an English court
of law condemned many people to punishment and death for
what it honestly believed to be an undoubted fact. We can
see, now, how the level-headed men of those times came _ to
an absolutely wrong decision, because the evidence that seemed
so conclusive was merely circumstantial.

On the other side there was also some evidence to show
that the Kea might be innocent. This may be classed as
follows :—

II. For the Kea:

a. The lack of the records of eye-witnesses.

b. In many places where Keas were known to _ live,
no sheep had been killed after the Kea’s method.

c. Many Keas in captivity would not eat meat, ete.

d. Many of the men who accused the bird were paid
for exterminating them, and they would naturally
wish the story to be believed.

Over this circumstantial evidence a war of words has
waged for many years, and once or twice it has seemed as
if the Kea would be exterminated before the question was
finally settled.

In order to try to bring this important question to a
final conclusion, I set to work to collect written statements
from actual eye-witnesses, who lived or had lived in Kea
country, and by carefully sifting and arranging this evidence
to obtain the actual facts about this interesting bird.

In response to several requests, kindly published for me
by the newspapers, I have received a large amount of
evidence from men who live, or have lived, in the Kea
country, viz., musterers, shepherds, head-shepherds, managers
of stations, runholders, and station owners.

EARLY RECORDS. 81

These, it is true, are probably not trained scientific
observers. Nevertheless, they all live in contact with facts ;
and it seems to me that we are sure to get nearer to the
truth by taking the experiences of men who have spent most
of their lives in Kea country in preference to those of men
who judge the birds mostly from caged or preserved specimens,

To make the evidence as reliable as possible, the following
precautions have been taken :—

I. Nothing but the accounts from eye-witnesses themselves
has been taken.

II. Evidence without the writer’s name and address has
been east out.

III. All details, such as year, have been forthcoming (as
far as possible) in each ease.

IV. The witnesses, if necessary, have been cross-examined
by post.

V. All the accounts of Keas attacking sheep have been
forwarded with a written statement to the effect that,
if necessary, the writer will swear to his evidence
before a Justice of the Peace.

The result of this investigation has already been
published,* including the eye-witnesses’ names and addresses,
as well as many of their written accounts.

I am fully aware that, in spite of all these precautions,
inaccuracies may creep in, and I have already proved that
some men will even tell hes for the sake of having their
names published.

However, in order to substantiate the records, I have
made several trips into the Kea country, and can testify to
many of the facts myself.

To some people this question will never be satisfactorily
proved until some man of scientific standing has actually seen
the Kea killing the sheep. In order to satisfy these doubters,
I would suggest that a number of sheep should be fenced in on
some station where Keas are plentiful, and that some one of

*Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, Vol. xxvir1. page 271.

6—16

82 THE KEA.

scientific standing should watch. The Kea’s method of attack
eould be witnessed in surroundings that are quite natural, and
no forcing or starving of the bird would be needed.

However, I think I am justified in saying that, as far as
human evidence can be relied on, I have conclusively proved
that the Kea has not only taken to meat-eating, but that it
does actually attack and kill sheep.

CHAPTER VII.

THE SHEEP KILLER.

In sin and shame o’ertaken,
Thy glory shall sink in gloom.

—JouN LippEtt Key.

The Keas have several methods of attacking sheep, and
it depends largely upon the kind of ground as tou which one is
used in a particular instance.

They may attack in large numbers up to one hundred and
twenty, or merely in ones and twos. Usually one or two old
birds, known as ‘‘sheep-killers,’’ do the killing, and the others
share the spoil.

It is quite a mistake to suppose that all Keas kill or even
attack sheep. Just as we have comparatively harmless tigers,
who will not attack man except under provocation, and also
‘‘man-eaters,’’ who seem to take a special delight in killing
men; so, among the Keas, many of them never attack sheep,
while others, usually old birds, seem to enjoy nothing better.

Again, the Keas do not, as many people suppose, choose the
lambs or weaklings, but in most cases the choicest of the flocks
is killed.

The usual mode of attack seems to be as follows. The bird
settles on the ground near its quarry, and, after hopping about
here and there for some time, leaps on to its prey, usually on
the rump.

If it cannot obtain a firm grip with its claws, the
movement of the sheep may cause it to fall, but the Kea
seems rather to enjoy the sensation, and so tries again until
it has securely perched itself on the sheep’s back.

Then the murderer begins cruelly to pull out the wool
with its powerful beak, until it gets down to the flesh.

9
85

84 THE KEA.

The sheep, which for some time has been moving
uneasily about, gives a jump as the beak enters the flesh,
and then commences to run wildly about here and there in
vain efforts to rid itself of its tormentor.

When, however, the poor beast discovers that it cannot
dislodge its enemy, it seems to lose its head, and rushes
blindly about, usually at a high speed.

Sometimes the birds run the sheep to death, and _ then
gorge themselves on the dead body. At other times they

A SHEEP KILLED BY KEAS. A Merino RAm Founp on Top Ftat,
Mr. Aegipus Srarion.

never really reach a vital part of the animal’s anatomy, but,
after severely wounding it, they leave it, and the poor brute
wanders about with a large gash, sometimes four or five inches
across, on its rump, and torn open so much that the transverse
processes of the vertebree can be seen. The sheep struggles

THE SHEEP KILLER. 85

along until blood-poisoning, caused by filth and exposure, sets
in, and the unfortunate beast lies down and gives up the
struggle. The animals must suffer very severe torture as they
wander about, the large wound exposing the flesh to insects
and to extremes of weather.

This method of killing accounts for the number of sheep
that are found in the paddocks at shearing time, wounded or
dead, with nothing but a scar showing on their rumps.

While staying at the Mt. Algidus Station, I was
fortunate enough to see three sheep that had been attacked
in this way by the Keas.

On the Top Flat, near the base of the Rolleston Range,
on a large terrace sloping down to the Mathias River, we
found a splendid merino ram, lying dead just where two
wire fences met at right angles. It looked as if the sheep
had been cornered there and wounded.

There was an ugly wound on the rump about eleven inches
from the base of the tail, the gash measuring four inches
by five in width and about two inches deep. One half had
been torn down to the sinews, while the lower half was
eaten down to the bone; the body cavity, though just pierced,
did not seem to have been disturbed. From all appearances
the animal had died from blood-poisoning and exhaustion, as
the wound was very black and dirty.

Just near this, belonging to the same mob, we found a
live ram running about with the others, with a dirty gash
on its rump, in a situation similar to that of the wound in
the other animal.

The wound was V-shaped, and along the sides it measured
four inches by six inches. It had partly healed, but was
festering very badly, so that there was very little hope for
the unfortunate sheep.

At Lake Coleridge Station, near the homestead, a four-
toothed merino ewe was found wandering about with a large
circular wound on its back, somewhat nearer the head than
in the former cases. It was put into the yards to await my
arrival, but it died before morning. The wound was four
inches by three in size, and had just entered the body
cavity.

86 THE KEA.

When this sheep was skinned it was seen that the whole
back was more or less black, which seemed to point to
blood poisoning, as none of the organs were injured.

Though the cases cited are horrible enough, the wounds
are often more severe; for not only are the kidneys injured,
but often the intestines are torn and pulled out through the
wound. Sheep have been found with yards of their intestines,
all hardened by exposure to the sun and air, dragging along
the ground.

In discussing the effect of the horrible cruelties practised
on the sheep by the Keas, Sir W. Buller gives the following
account.

“On the surgical operation performed on the living sheep
by the Kea, an interesting paper was read before the
Pathological Society of London in November, 1879, by the
distinguished surgeon, Mr. John Woods, F.R.S. He exhibited
the colon of a sheep in which the operation known as
colotomy had been performed by this parrot, of which
likewise he produced a specimen, both having been sent to
him for that purpose by Dr. DeLatour, of Otago.

‘“Mr. Woods was informed by his correspondents that,
when the sheep are assembled, wounds resulting from the
Kea’s ‘vivisection’ are often found upon them, and _ not
infrequently the victims present an artificial anus, a fistulous
opening into the intestines, in the right loin.

‘““The specimen exhibited was from a_ sheep that had
been so attacked. It consisted of the lumbar vertebre and
the colon, showing the artificial anus between the iliae crest
and the last rib on the right side, just in the place, that is,
where the modern surgeons perform the operation know to
them as Amussat’s; below the wound the intestine was
contracted, while it was enlarged and hypertrophied above.

‘““The sheep was much wasted. The médus operandi was
described as follows :—The birds, which are very bold and
nearly as large as rooks, single out the strongest sheep in
the flock. One bird, settling on the sacrum, tears off the
wool with its beak and then digs its beak into the flesh
until the sheep falls from exhaustion or loss of blood.

THE SHEEP KILLER. 87

“Sometimes the wound penetrates to the colon, when, if
the animal recovers, this artificial anus is formed. It may
be on the left, but is more frequently on the right side.
It has been suggested that the bird aims at the colon in
search of its vegetable contents, but the Kea’s earnivorous
appetite has been too frequently noticed to necessitate any
such hypothesis.’’

One of my correspondents gives the following account :—
“One solitary wether I found on the Kingston Flat, still
alive and standing, with a hole half-way down the right
flank, and about eighteen inches of the double of his small
gut on the ground. I afterwards saw him dead at the same
place.”’

Often the birds seem to delight in_ prolonging the
sheep’s misery, for a shepherd writes as follows :—‘‘ Along
with another shepherd, I was out on the ranges attending to
the sheep, when we heard the Keas making a great noise. On
looking up to where they were, we saw a sheep. standing on
a ledge of rocks; one Kea kept jumping on to the sheep’s
back and pecking at him. The sheep was trying to get
away, but could not get off the ledge. Evidently it had
been chased by the Keas, and it had jumped on to the
ledge. The Keas were at the sheep for fully half-an-hour,
and we could not get near to drive them off When we
left, the birds were still worrying the sheep.”’

Another shepherd gives the following account :—‘‘I have
noticed a wounded sheep standing on steep faces, and the Keas
walking round and round it. The sheep would also keep
turning round so as to face its tormentors, butting at them
and trying to keep them off. They would keep on _ until
the sheep would lose its footing and would fall to rise no
more.”’

The position and attitude of the bird while on the
sheep’s back is well described in the following :—‘‘ It was in
the afternoon, I was mustering in Boundary Gully, Mount
Cook Station, at the time, and had a mob of sheep in hand
and was about two chains away, when a Kea, one of several
that were flying around, settled on a sheep. The beast at

88 THE KEA.

first gave a jump or two, and then made down hill at a
great rate. When the sheep got into motion, the _ bird
spread out its wings, and, as the pace became faster, the
wings came together at the perpendicular. The sheep
continued its race until both were lost to view, after going
some distance through the storm.’’

These blind rushes often end even more tragically. The
sheep in its blind rush often comes to a precipice, and, with
the same impulse that brought it so far, it leaps over the
edge and is dashed to pieces on the ground below. In this
case the Kea leaves its hold as soon as the sheep begins to
fall, but follows the unfortunate animal in the descent to
satisfy its hunger on the result of its labours.

Mr. Robert Guthrie, of Canterbury, who has spent a
large number of years in Kea country, gives the following
graphic description of Keas attacking the sheep at their
nightly camps :—‘‘ At last one clear night, when there was
about half a moon, I made my way up to the sheep camp.
After a good deal of trouble, I got into a crevice in a rock
that I had selected in daylight, within twenty feet of the
nearest sheep, and without disturbing them. I lay there for
some hours and, just two or three minutes before the moon
went down, fifteen Keas alighted, within ten feet of where I
was lying, as silent as spectres. They immediately became
exceedingly active, running about and picking at this and that
amongst the sheep, jumping on and off the sheeps’ backs, the
sheep not taking the slightest notice of them. All at once
the moon left me, and I could see no more. I waited for
more than an hour longer, and during that time there were a
few commotions among the sheep, but not a sound from the
Keas. I got one dead sheep next day. The next night I was
again in my place in the rocks, and had only a few minutes to
wait, when the fifteen Keas lit again, as silently as on the night
before. They again scattered round the camp, and seemed to
be exceedingly busy and active, running to and fro, picking
at this and that. It seemed to me that they were after
small grubs that are usually found about a sheep camp.
They eventually began jumping on the sheeps’ backs and

THE SHEEP KILLER, 89

sometimes as many as four would be on one sheep at a time.
One would give a peck, the sheep would give a_ bound
forward, and they would all come off. They did not seem
to follow the same sheep, but just hopped on to the first
one they came to. Sometimes when one got on a sheep’s
back in a good position—behind the kidneys facing the head
—it would keep pecking and so keep the sheep jumping round
and through the mob for a long time. I am quite certain
that they thoroughly enjoyed the fun of riding on the sheep

CLOSE VIEW OF A WOUND mabe sy Keras ON THE SHEEP FOUND ON
Tor Fuat, Mt, ALaipus STATION.

and falling off. After about an hour of this sport, I noticed
one that had got in a good position on a_sheep’s’ back
striking it more quickly and more vigorously than any of
the others. It kept the sheep careering in and through the
camp in an awful state, until at last it disappeared down
the ridge leading down to some overhanging rocks. After
about a minute, I heard a Kea eall far down the gully.
Next day I got a dead sheep at the foot of the rocks
where the sheep disappeared. I did not see the Kea come

90 THE KEA.

back to the camp, but no doubt it did directly the sheep
went over the rocks. At any rate, less than twenty minutes
afterwards I again saw a Kea in the correct position on a
sheep’s back, viciously striking, and I distinctly saw it lift
its head and give one strong peck, when the sheep
immediately collapsed and fell down among the other sheep.
I think the Kea then left it. I waited for some time, and
then went out as quickly as I could. The mob drew out
of the camp, but the injured sheep was still sprawling about.
I tried to make it stand, but it could not. I came back
next day and found it lying in the same place, but black and
very much swollen. I cut its throat, and left my gun in
my hiding place during the day and came back at night. I
got six of the fifteen Keas that night and the others during
the next three weeks. There was never a sheep killed on
this camp after the night I saw the sheep struck down.”’

The case of a sheep jumping over a precipice in its terror
is not an altogether uncommon occurrence, as can be seen by
the number of marked sheep found dead at the foot of the
precipices.

Writing on this subject, one of my correspondents says :—
‘‘T write to say that I have seen the Kea at work at a_ sheep.
The latter was driven frantic by the bird’s attack, and ran
wildly in any and every direction, eventually making a bee-line
down a steep slope, as if blind, took a ‘header’ over a
precipice more than a hundred feet high, and was dashed to
pieces on the rocky and shingly bottom. The Kea hung on to
its prey until the moment the unfortunate animal left terra
firma, when the bird relaxed its hold, and flew down almost
on the very track of its prey, when it was lost to view by the
writer and a shepherd who was there also.”’

Sometimes the sheep tears round the flock until it is played
out and cowed, when it sinks to the ground and les with its
neck stretched out, a picture of misery.

At other times the terrified sheep, as if making a
last despairing attempt to get rid of its enemy, rushes
madly forward in one direction, usually down hill, at a
terrific speed, quite oblivious of rocks and pitfalls, the Kea

THE SHEEP KILLER. ot

meanwhile holding on and balancing itself with outstretched
wings. Very soon the sheep strikes a rock or stumbles and
rolls over and over down the hill, only to get on its feet
again and repeat the performance time after time. When
the beast stumbles the Kea rises on its wings, and settles
down again on the sheep when it has regained its feet.

This awful race is continued until, bruised by its
numerous falls, utterly exhausted by its death struggles and
maddened with pain, the terrified animal stumbles to rise no
more, and becomes an easy prey to the Kea.

Several men have witnessed these awful rushes, and have
also come upon the murderer gorging himself on the live
sheep, tearing at the kidney fat and pulling at the entrails.

The following are a few instances illustrating this
method of attack.

Mr. J. Sutherland writes:—‘‘In 1887 I was keeping a
boundary where Keas were numerous, and on several occasions
I saw them attack sheep. I saw a sheep running down the
hill with a Kea hanging on. I followed after it, and found
the sheep lying in the gully with the Kea tearing away at
it. I drove it off. The sheep was not dead, but the wool
and the skin were torn, and a hole was made in the sheep’s
back, just above the kidney, a wound from which it would
have died; however, I killed it to put it out of pain.”’

Mr. H. E. Cameron gives the following account :—‘‘ One
day while mustering in the summer time of 1895, I saw a
Kea on a sheep’s back clinging to the wool and digging his
beak into its back, and a number of others flying about. I
went down to the sheep with some other men. Some
entrails had been pulled through a hole in its back and we
had to kill the sheep. I was camped at the foot of Davies’
Saddle (Longslip Station) one foggy day, and at three o’clock
heard a great screaming of Keas; so I went out to see
what they were at. On going down the creek a_ short
distance I saw a sheep coming down the face of the hill as
fast as it could, with a Kea on its hips and twelve more
birds following and screaming. The sheep, when it got to
the foot of the hill, ran under a bank and went down on its

92 THE KBEA.

knees, the Kea picking away at its back and the others
watching as if waiting for a feed. I went up to the sheep,
after throwing stones at the birds. When I got up to the
sheep, it had two holes in its back, and the kidney fat had been
eaten, but the kidneys were lying bare in the sheep. The
entrails were pulled out through the hole in the back. The
sheep was not dead, but had to be killed.’’

A SHEEP KILLED BY KEAS. A Four-rootHED Mrrino Ewe FOUND
oN LAKE COLERIDGE STATION,

Mr. A. S. Smith, of Fairlie, writes :—‘‘ The first occasion
on which I actually saw a sheep killed was one time while
mustering. I noticed two sheep that had been passed some
little distance, and while in the act of hunting a dog for
the sheep, a Kea flew down to the back of a sheep, which
made headlong down the hill with the bird all the while on
its back. After running some little distance, the beast
stumbled and fell; then the bird rose to its wings, and the
sheep continued its race down hill, evidently much terrified.
The bird then flew on to the sheep’s back again while it ran.
This occurred, I should say, three or four times, before the

THE SHEEP KILLER. 93

bottom of the gully was_ reached. When I went to
investigate, | found the sheep not quite dead, but bleating
with evident pain, it would appear on account of a hole in
its back close up to the shoulder.’’

Mr. H. Heckler, of Lumsden, writes :--‘‘I was keeping
boundary at the Gladstone Gorge after snow muster, and was
gathering the stragglers off the high country, when I came
across about twenty Keas. Two of them were on a sheep’s back,
the balance were flying round him (a stray wether), making a
terrible noise. The sheep was going at full speed down the
spur. I watched him where he ran to, and followed him
down for about three miles. When I got down the sheep was
dead, with two holes (one on each side of the backbone) in
him, and most of the mob of Keas were picking out the
kidney fat. I crawled to the rock where the poor sheep was.
lying, and the Keas were so busy that I killed three with my
stick.”’

Mr. Andrew Watherston, writing to me of his experiences
in 1904, says :—‘‘I was looking out a mob of wethers, and found
that the Keas had been killing them and there were eight
dead. As it came on a dense fog I had to return to my hut.
Early on the following morning I went out to the wethers
again. Arriving where the sheep were camped sometime before
sunrise, I could hear the Keas ealling, and following up the
sound I got to where there were about forty of them. They
had about there or four hundred wethers rounded up. The
sheep were huddled close together, and the Keas were flying
over them, and alighting on their backs. When the Keas.
started to pick the back of a sheep, it would start to run
round and round the mob; the Kea would rise, but as soon
as the sheep stopped the bird was on its back again. This.
continued for a little time; the sheep, apparently getting
sulky, lay down with its neck stretched out and its lower
jaw resting flat on the ground, when it showed no further
resistance but allowed the Kea to pick away at its back. I
never knew a sheep, after it once sulked, to show any
further resistance. I shot nineteen Keas and left the mob,
but, on looking round, I found that they had _ killed

94 THE KEA.

thirty-eight wethers, most of them being quite warm and in
splendid condition.”’

Many more such instances could be cited, but enough has
been said to show the methods and the results of the Keas’
attacks on sheep.

The greatest damage is fone to the flocks in winter,
when the country is snow-bound. In the mountainous
regions, the sheep are usually kept down on the low

CLOSE VIEW OF WOUND maps By Kras ON THE SHEEP FOUND AT
LAKE COLERIDGE STATION.

country until the mountains get a good coat of snow, for
once the tops are covered there is very little danger of the
sheep going far in the snow.

However, if the sheep have been allowed to remain on
the tops of the ranges until the snow comes, as is sometimes
the case on a big run, they gather together in a basin near
the summit and are buried by the snow. It is at this time
that the Kea finds them an easy prey, and many a_ bloody
battlefield, the snow being deeply tinged with red, shows

THE SHEEP KILLER. 95

where the helpless benumbed sheep have been literally torn
to pieces while alive by the relentless birds. Even when
men, wading waist high in the snow, climb up to dig the sheep
out, the brutal birds will often not leave their prey, but fall
victims to the musterer’s alpenstock.

Here are some accounts from eye-witnesses.

Mr. McIntosh, of Lake Tekapo, says :—‘‘I saw again another
mob stuck in the snow, in a very rough place which we
shepherds could not get to. I watched from the other side of
the gully, and, by the aid of my glasses, saw the parrots
actually eating the sheep alive while they were caught in the
snow.”’

Mr. Logan, another of my correspondents, says :—‘‘ The
sheep were held up by snow, and there were thirteen Keas
attacking them. They had some killed and others maimed
beyond recovery. They were sitting on the living and the dead,
but only one or two of the birds seemed to be attacking the
living.”’

Mr. Hugh McKenzie writes:—‘‘In 1884, on Lorne Peak
Station, Wakatipu, in the month of July, there came a heavy
fall of snow. One morning early, myself and two other men
went out to look up the sheep; at 10 a.m. we sighted a mob.
As we got within about a quarter of a mile of them, we could
make out a number of Keas flying about the sheep, making a
great screaming noise. We at once hastened on to the sheep,
which were stuck on a point of the spur about 3,000ft. in
altitude. At a distance of three or four hundred yards, we
saw two sheep floundering in the snow with a Kea perched on
the rump of each sheep, and at work on the loins. These sheep
would be distant from the mob about eighty yards, and fully
twenty yards from each other. As we sighted them, however,
notwithstanding our singing out, and hurrying up to the sheep,
neither Kea quitted his position until we were within twenty
yards of them. They, however, did not damage the sheep
enough to cause death, as we arrived just in time.’’

The last instance is given by Mr. O’Brian :—‘‘ Three of us
were sent to muster the sheep off this spur, where the snow
was, according to our judgment, fullythree feet deep on the top

96 THE KEA.

and deeper in places. On reaching the summit of what we
called the main top we came across a mob of sheep more or
less snowed in. These we dug out of the snow, and, having
let them roll down the hill as far as they would, we went
further up the spur to see how many more we could find. After
a short climb we came across a mob of fifty, also snowed in, and
here I caught the Keas in the act of murdering. The birds had
already killed three, and several others were dying. The dead
ones were very much torn about, and what especially attracted
my attention was the way in which the small gut was pulled
out through the flank and stretched yards away. There were
fully a dozen Keas attacking the mob around the hole, and the
place was literally stained with blood, no doubt from the Keas’
blood-stained feet. The birds seemed thoroughly to enjoy killing
sheep, and were very bold. I was up to my waist in snow
alongside the sheep, and when I was standing still the Keas
would come boldly up to me to within five feet. After we had
driven the Keas off they flew almost straight to the first mob,
and, according to my mates, who went back for the first mob,
attacked those sheep in a similar way.”’

CHAPTER VIII.

GETTING INTO BAD HABITS.

I must be free as the wildest thing
Free to laugh in the beams of day,
Free on the blast to be borne away.”
—WILLIAM PEMBER REEVES,

I am almost certain that too much emphasis has been
laid on the fact that the Kea, a member of the brush-tongued
parrot family, has changed its ordinary diet and taken to
eating meat and fat. When we consider the natural diet of
the bird, the change seems more or less natural, for there
seems to be very little difference between eating a _ large
plump grub and a piece of fat.

The more interesting fact is that, in addition to this, it
has changed its character, and, from being a harmless parrot,
has become a bird of prey of no mean order.

Other birds, in confinement at all events, have been
known to eat meat, though in nature they seem to content
themselves with fruit and seeds. For example, many parrots
and cockatoos seem thoroughly to enjoy cleaning up _ bones
with particles of flesh on them. Again, in New Zealand, the
little white-eye (Zosterops cwrulescens), whose natural food is
blight, small insects and fruit, can be easily trapped, in
winter especially, by means of suet fat or meat bones, both
of which it devours readily.

Therefore it seems to me that there is nothing very
wonderful in the fact that the Kea enjoys a little meat and
fat in addition to its ordinary food.

Another interesting case is that reported by Captain
Hende, of British East Africa, and forwarded to ‘‘ Nature”’
by Professor E. Ray Lankester, on 10th August, 1900. It
runs as follows:—‘‘The common rhinoceros bird (Buphaga

7—16 97

98 THE KEA.

erythrorhyncha) here formerly fed on ticks and other parasites
which infest game and domestic animals; cccasionally, if an
animal had a sore, the bird would probe the sore to such
an extent that sometimes it killed the animal. Since the
cattle plague destroyed the immense herds in Ukamihani, and
nearly all the sheep and goats were eaten during the late
famine, the birds, deprived of their food, have become
carnivorous, and now any domestic animal, not constantly
watched, is killed by them. Perfectly healthy animals have
their ears eaten down to the bone, holes torn in their backs
and in the femoral region.’’

It will thus be seen that at least three kinds of
insectivorous and fruit-eating birds are known to eat fat and
meat on special occasions.

When we look at the circumstances that forced the Kea
to add to its diet, it would have been more wonderful if
the bird had refused to touch the new food.

Unfortunately for science, as the Kea had learned to kill
sheep before men were aware of it, we shall never be able
now to decide finally what set of circumstances caused him
to change; but I think that the truth is confined to the last
two of the following three theories.

Whether the change of diet was influenced in the way
explained by either one or both of those theories it is hard
to say; but so far no other reason can be given to which it
is worth while giving serious consideration.

THE VEGETABLE SHEEP THEORY.

This was the earliest and for many years the most
popular; but, when further investigation brought to light
many new facts, the theory lost favour, though even to-day
some people adhere to it.

The vegetable sheep, after which I have named the
theory, is one of the most interesting of our alpine plants.
Owing to its cushiony appearance it is often erroneously termed
a moss or fungus. The name includes two closely allied
plants, which grow especially on the mountainous country of

BAD HABITS. 99

the northern half of the South Island, at an altitude of from
4,000 feet to 6,000 feet above sea-level.

Dr. L. Cockayne makes the following comment upon
them :—‘*The rocks of the alpine summits weathering away,
and the rain not being sufficient to bear all the debris down
into the valleys, an enormous quantity of angular stones collects
on the mountain sides in many places, which may form steep
slopes for thousands of feet. As the climber wearily ascends

THE VEGETABLE SHEEP (Raoulia eximia), Mr. TorueEsse,
CANTERBURY,

these shingle slips, as they are called, progress is slow; the
tones continually slip beneath his feet, and slide down the
slope. No place could seem more unlikely to support vegetable
life. It is in truth a veritable alpine desert. . . . . On
these shingle slips the wonderful vegetable sheep are
encountered. These grow, not on the shingle, but on the
rocks which the stones have nearly buried. Large examples
form great hummocks six feet tong by three feet across, or

100 THE, KEA.

even more. Really they are shrubs of the daisy family, and
are provided with a thick, stout, woody main stem and
strong roots, which pass far into the rock crevices. Above,
the stems branch again and again, and towards their
extremities are covered with small woolly leaves, packed as
tightly as possible. Finally stems, branches and leaves are
all pressed into a dense, hard, convex mass, making an
excellent seat for a wearied botanist. Within the plant is a
peat made of its rotting leaves and branches, which holds
water like a sponge, and into which the final branchlets put
their roots: thus the plant lives in a great measure on its
own decay.”’

There are two kinds; a finer one (Raoulia eximia) which
is of a greyish blue colour, and is found over many
mountains in Canterbury, and aé_ coarser’ kind (Haastiu
pulvinaris) which is of a yellowish brown colour and_ is
confined to the mountains just north of Canterbury.

At a distance a number of these plants do somewhat
resemble a few sheep lying down; hence the name.

The supporters of the theory hold that the Kea was in
the habit of tearing open these plants in order to get out
the large white grubs, which were said to live in them;
and that, when sheep. first wandered into the _ birds’
domain, they were mistaken for the woolly vegetable sheep.
The bird, with the intention of digging out the grubs, was
supposed to tear open the animal’s skin, and, finding meat
and fat even more appetising than the grubs, persisted in
its efforts and so acquired the habit of sheep-killing.

All this sounds very reasonable, but unfortunately for
the theorists it will not bear investigation.

The first objection is that, where the Kea was first
known to attack sheep, the true vegetable sheep are
unknown, and many mosses are just as conspicuous as the
species of uoulia that grows around Lake Wanaka. faoulia
evrinia does not grow further south than Mt. Ida in Central
Otago, at present its only known habitat in that province.

Secondly, no large white grubs, big enough to cause the
Kea to tear up these tough plants, have ever (as far as I can

BAD HABITS. 101

ascertain) been found in such numbers as to attract the birds ;
and, though I have often torn the plants to pieces, I have never
found any large insect larve.

Thirdly, if the Kea feeds on the grubs that are said to live
in these plants, one would expect to find the shrubs partly torn
up; but I can find no evidence in favour of this. Though I
have been upon the ranges where both Keas and vegetable
sheep were numerous, I have always found the plants intact.

Lastly, when the Kea first attacked sheep, according to
the first accounts, the shoulder or the rump, the latter in
preference, was the part chosen. Now, if the bird were in
the first instance looking for grubs, he would almost be
certain to have worked right along the back: but’ the
evidence disproves this.

It therefore seems to me that, unless some very strong new
evidence is forthcoming in support of this theory, we have
no alternative but to leave it in future out of consideration.

THE CURIOSITY THEORY.

The supporters of this theory say that it has been nothing
but the Kea’s insatiable curiosity and love of investigation
that has got it into the habit of sheep-killing.

As has been shown in a_ previous chapter, it is never
happier than when it is pulling something to pieces, and
anything with a strange appearance is always a_ temptation
too strong for the Kea to resist. Now, the suggestion
embodied in the theory is this—that, when sheep first wandered
into the Kea’s domain, as the bird had very likely never
before in its life seen anything that walked on four legs,
this woolly animal at once aroused its curiosity. With the
Kea, to wish to investigate is to do it, and the sheep became
a centre of attraction.

The bird would no doubt walk round these strange
animals and inspect them from all sides, and when satisfied
with the view from the ground it would fly on to the sheep’s
back.

This would naturally cause the sheep to move, and the

102 THE KEA.

Kea would soon tumble off, no doubt thoroughly enjoying
the novelty.

In this way, by repeated failures, the bird would soon
acquire the knack of holding on to a sheep while it was
running.

Onee on the back of a sheep, the bird would now want
some other novelty to amuse itself with, and the woolly
fleece would become the next object of investigation.

Soon the flesh and fat would be reached; and, the bird
finding these new morsels much to its taste, the art of
sheep-killing would soon be acquired.

In this country the heavy snow storms often bury or
practically bury many sheep. The struggles of a_half-buried
beast would soon attract the Kea; and, finding the animal
an easy prey, it would soon begin its depredations.

This theory has something in its favour, and no doubt
does to some extent account for the bird’s change of
character.

THE HUNGER THEORY.

This one appears to me to explain to a larger extent the
cause of the Kea’s downfall, and as food is a necessity the
fall was somewhat natural.

There is a good deal of evidence to show that lack of
ordinary food greatly influenced the Kea towards sheep-killing.

As the Kea feeds on berries, grubs, roots, ete., there is no
doubt that in winter and spring the excessive snow and
heavy frost, so prevalent in Kea country, must often make
the procuring of food very difficult. Again, as at this period
the eggs are sometimes laid, and perhaps the young ones have
to be fed, the lack of ordinary food must at times make
the bird desperate.

If this did not in the first instance cause the parrot to
kill sheep, it seems now to affect the number killed, for
usually a severe winter, accompanied by heavy snow-falls,
means a heavy death toll levied on the flocks by Keas.

The pastoral homesteads are scattered in the valleys of
the foot-hills. The Kea, wandering about in quest of

BAD HABITS. 108

something to satisfy its intense hunger, would, on reaching
the lower levels, come across the meat gallows, where very
likely the carcase of a sheep would hang, or at least some
skins with pieces of meat and fat still adhering to them
would be thrown over the fence to dry.

In trying everything with its powerful beak to see if it
were edible, it would soon taste the pieces on the skins or

THE MEAT GALLOWS on wuHicH SHEEP FOR HOME CONSUMPTION
ARE HUNG AFTER THEY HAVE BEEN KILLED.

even from the carecase itself; and, finding them much to his
taste and easily procurable, it would soon acquire a_ liking
for them.

If the skins and carcase were absent, there would
always be a number of sheep’s heads scattered around the

gallows, and the Keas could there always find something to
eat.

104 THE KEA.

It is said that, in the early days, miners prospecting for
gold often killed a sheep for food, and, roughly skinning it,
would leave the skin and much offal on the ground, thus
giving the Kea ample opportunity to get the taste for
meat.

Once having acquired the carnivorous taste, it would
soon find out that the dead sheep lying about the station
contained the same kind of food, and that by tearing off the
wool a good meal was always to be had. Tearing at the
half-dead sheep, buried in the snow, would be its next step
on the downward course; and, finding a lack of dead sheep;
it would soon begin to attempt to eat the animal while it
was running about. The wounds thus caused would soon
mortify and cause the animal’s death, and so the Kea would
find an ever accessible method of acquiring a meal.

Some early writers suggest that, as the bird formerly fed
on insect larve, the finding of a dead sheep in an advanced
stage of decomposition gave them the taste for meat. In
this way, the careases being often full of maggots from the
eggs of the ever-present blow-fly, as the Kea picked out the
maggots it would at the same time eat pieces of meat and
so acquire the taste for flesh.

This may in some measure have influenced the bird; at
any rate, it would largely account for some Keas being fond
of bad meat.

The following information, forwarded by Mr. James
McDonald, adds weight to the hunger theory, especially as
the killing first began on the station of which he speaks.

In a letter to me he says:—‘‘I would like to say one
thing in answer to the question why the Wanaka Station
suffered first by the Kea. My opinion is that it was because
this station was the first to send men out to the out-huts in
winter where they had to kill their own mutton. The skin
was hung up on a fence or a bush, and the birds, driven
to lower levels by the heavy snow which covered everything,
came down in numbers to pick at the skins and entrails.
When deprived of this they began to kill sheep for themselves,

BAD HABITS. 105

after having acquired the taste from the food obtained at
the huts.’’

What particular group of facts covered by the Hunger
Theory really caused the Kea to change I do not know; but
I think that this theory indicates in what direction the true
cause may be found.

CHAPTER IX.

THE KIDNEY THEORY.

How o’er the fascinating features flits
The genuine passions of the nether pit!

—ALFRED DoMeETY.

One of the most popular (yet, as I think, erroneous)
statements about the Kea, is that the bird chooses the part
of the sheep where the kidneys are situated, and_ then,
burrowing into the living animal by means of its powerful
mandibles, devours this delicacy.

Nearly every writer on the subject repeats the statement,
and some even quote it as a proof of the Kea’s
intelligence.

In his ‘‘ History of New Zealand Birds,’’ Sir W. Buller
quotes a letter from Mr. W. Chamberlain, of Harbourne Hall,
Birmingham, who cited the statement as an indication of the
parrot’s reasoning powers. He says :—‘* Consider for a moment
the sequence of events and the extraordinary change of habit.
attributed to the parrot. Between 1865 and 1870 the Kea
first comes in contaet with the shepherd, and commences to.
steal his meat, with a marked preference for the kidneys.
This is natural enough, and any other parrot with a tendency
to animal food might do the same, and here the matter
would ordinarily rest. The shepherds would protect their
meat, and the parrots would return to their natural food,
Not so with the Keas. Between five and six years later
they found not only that kidneys are somewhere inside living
sheep, but where abouts and the nearest point on _ the
back from which to reach them.’’

Mr. Chamberlain is quite right in his statement of the
fact, but I think that his deductions are far from correct.

106

THE KIDNEY THEORY. 107

Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace quotes a similar misstatement
in his book entitled ‘*‘ Darwinism ;”’ for, after describing
the methods of the Kea’s attack, he says :—‘‘ Since then it is
stated that the bird actually burrows into the living sheep,
eating its way down to the kidney, which forms its special
delicacy.”’

These incorrect statements were made possible by the loose
way in which some of our writers have collected their evidence,
and, in some cases, have made use of mere sheep station
rumours.

It was Mr. C. C. Huddlestone who first disputed the
statement, and said that the Kea attacked sheep for the kidney
fat and the flesh.

This idea of Mr. Huddlestone’s is supported by the evidence
sent to me by men who have seen many sheep killed and
wounded by the Kea, for they all (with one exception) state
that the kidney is not the special attraction, but that the
meat and fat are the object of the bird’s desire.

The witness who was the one exception, in another part
of his letter, writes as follows :—‘‘I have shot many Keas by
dead sheep, and they vomit fat;’’ so there seems to be
evidence, even in this exception, that the bird ate the fat
rather than the kidneys.

Of course, the Kea’s taste may have changed since its
first attempt at sheep-killing ; yet many witnesses, ranging
back to some of the earliest, do not support the kidney
theory. A shepherd, in a letter to me, says:—‘‘I have not
examined many sheep that have been killed by Keas, but in
the ones that I have investigated I have always found the
same result,—the fat eaten and the kidneys left. Of course,
the kidneys have been found mauled, but they were not
sufficiently torn to give the impression that the Keas had
been eating them.’’

Another correspondent says :—‘‘I was. walking quietly
along and came to the edge of a slight depression in the
ground, and there, right at my feet, a Kea rose from _ the
body of a sheep. I examined the sheep. It was a fat merino
wether,—perfectly sound; but it had been severely injured

108 THE KEA.

by the Kea. <A hole had been made in the sheep’s_ loin,—
the kidneys were protruding, and some of the fat had been
eaten.”’

Other correspondents write ina similar strain, stating that
the kidneys were usually untouched and the fat eaten.

If the kidneys were the special delicacy, as ‘‘ Darwinism ”’
states, then the Keas, I am certain, would have devoured
them as soon as they were exposed.

Whatever may have been the attraction in the early days,
the Kea does not now kill sheep for the sake of the
kidneys.

People have been led to suppose that the Kea always
went for the kidney, because it always attacked the sheep
just over these organs; but, after having gone through the
accounts of about fifty eye-witnesses, I cannot find any
trustworthy evidence in support of the kidney theory.

Without crediting the Kea with any special powers of
reasoning, there are several better reasons that easily explain
its procedure ; and these show that the bird simply attacks in
the easiest, most natural and most effective way. It is, I
think, too much to assume that the Kea has inherited from
its parents the knowledge as to where the sheep’s kidneys
are situated; and yet from the first the rump has been the
favourite part of attack. The shoulders are injured
sometimes, but this is only in the case of sheep buried in
the snow. Even if we assume that the Kea has _ intelligence
enough to discover the position of the kidneys, we are still
left with a difficulty. We are asked to believe that, within
the last fifty years, or even a mueh shorter period, the
acquired character of being able to locate the sheep’s
kidneys has become an inherited character and is passed on
to the offspring. In believing this we accept as a basis for
agrument that which is a matter for keen controversy among
our leading biologists, and is by no means decided. No good
case can be built on such insecure foundation. We must look
in some other direction for an explanation of the Kea’s
habit.

If we look at the facts we shall see that the Kea

THE KIDNEY THEORY. 109

injures the loin, not because the kidneys are there, but
because it is the easiest and in some cases the only possible
point of attack. Nearly all my correspondents say that, from
what they have seen, the Kea with few exceptions always
settles on the sheep’s hind-quarters.

The first reason for this is that the rump is the widest
and most solid part of the sheep’s back, and so forms a firm
platform for the bird to alight on. Some _ eye-witnesses say
that it is the only place where a Kea can retain its hold on a
sheep.

One states :—‘‘It is almost impossible for a Kea to. stick
on a sheep’s back, while pecking it, in any other position
than behind the kidneys facing the head. I have seen them
trying to hang on to the sheep’s back, but unless they were
in the position described they could not stay on for ten
yards.’’

A musterer, writing to me concerning Keas that had
worried some sheep in a sheep-camp, says :—‘‘ They did not
seem to follow the same sheep, but just hopped on to the
first one they came to. Sometimes, when one got on a
sheep’s back in a good position—behind the kidneys, facing
the head,—it would keep pecking, and would keep the sheep
jumping round and through the mob for a long time.”

Secondly, when the Kea flies after a sheep the rump _ is
the nearest and handiest part to settle on, and, as the sheep
often stumbles and throws the bird off, it will often have to
regain its seat while the poor beast is running; so it is no
wonder that this part is nearly always selected.

Thirdly, when the Kea is once perched on the sheep’s_ back,
it will naturally begin to peck at the handiest part, and this
is certainly the loin. Fortunately for the bird, that part is
the least protected portion of the whole sheep, for the loins
are the only places where the internal organs are unprotected
by ribs or other bone. Thus the bird can easily tear its
way into the body cavity.

There seems to be very little doubt that the preceding
reasons do more to determine the Kea’s point of attack than
the presence of the kidneys or kidney fat. Though the bird

110 THE’ KEA.

is fond of the kidney fat, I do not consider that there is
enough evidence to show that this part of the beast is the
main attraction.

This is supported by the fact that many cases are known
of sheep-killing where the fat is untouched.

In July, 1907, I saw several sheep which had undoubtedly
been killed by the Kea, and, though the muscles along the
backbone had been torn off, the kidney fat was untouched.

The birds appear in many cases to eat whatever part comes
first. Starting at the skin, they eat through the flesh, then on
to the fat. Often the fat is only partially eaten, while the
intestines have been pulled out and may be found dragging for
some distance on the ground.

A correspondent states that one day he came suddenly upon
two or three Keas pecking at the loin of what he supposed was
a dead sheep. There was a hole in the sheep’s back, and the
birds were putting their heads right through to the inside of
the animal and pulling out portions of the intestines. He went
over, and to his surprise found that the sheep was not dead:
he killed it to put it out of pain.

It seems that the birds do not mind what part they eat
when they are hungry, so long as they obtain a meal. Mr.
Ewen Cameron, of Otago, gives the following instance :—‘‘A
snow-slip carried some sheep with it, and I found a sheep stuck
in the snow, where it had landed, still alive, with its legs eaten
to the bone, and half a dozen Keas tearing away at him.”’

The evidence that has been received up to date definitely
proves that the Kea does not kill the sheep for the sake of
the kidneys only, and I doubt very much if they are in any
way the source of attraction. As for the kidney fat being
the coveted delicacy, there is some evidence to support it;
but there is good reason to believe that mechanical reasons
and not physiological ones determine the point of attack.

The case of the Kea is certainly unique in the fact that
an insectivorous and fruit-eating parrot should develop the
characteristics of a bird of prey. But, when we understand
the reasons that led the bird to change its habit, much fof the
~wonder ceases.

THE KIDNEY THEORY. iit

The stout grasping feet, made for holding on to rocks and
trees, were naturally fitted for holding on to a sheep’s_ back ;
and the powerful beak, used for grubbing in the earth or
tearing off the bark of trees, was admirably fitted for tearing
off the flesh of sheep.

Therefore, being, as it were, naturally adapted for such
attack, it is not so very strange that the Kea, having been
forced into a new way of procuring food, soon developed
into a bird of prey.

There is an interesting point mentioned by Professor
Benham, in a paper on the Kea, published in the ‘‘ Transactions
of the New Zealand Institute, 1906.’’

HUMERUS OF SHEEP, SAID TO HAVE BEEN SPLIT OPEN BY KEAS.,

Quoting from a correspondent’s paper he says :—‘‘ There is
another matter I would like to point out to you about Keas;
when they have eaten all the flesh off the bone then they
tackle the shoulder (i.e., humerus) and leg bone and take
all the marrow out of them by chipping them with their
beaks until they obtain an entrance. I am sending you four
shoulder bones, some old and some fresh ones killed last
year.”’

Professor Benham kindly gave me one of the bones,
which I have here figured, and also lent me the correspondent’s

letter.

112 THE KEA.

I wrote letters to those men who might be able to give
me information on this point, and even went so far as to
ask for evidence through the newspapers which circulate
through the Kea country, but I received nothing to support
the suggestion made in the letter.

In order to ascertain on what authority the statement
was made, I wrote to the correspondent and asked him to let
me know if he had ever seen the Keas breaking the bones,
and also if he could furnish the names of men who could
give me authentic evidence on this very interesting point ;
but I received no answer.

Nowhere else in all the Kea country did I hear of any
similar instance of bone-splitting by Keas, and_ therefore,
until more conclusive evidence is forthcoming, the matter
must be regarded as a _ supposition merely. I cannot trace
any teeth marks on the bone; as the Kea has been known
to split thin flakes from the soft rocks, it may, by
commencing at the head of the bone, which is somewhat
soft, be able to split a bone open.

It is certain from the appearance of the bone that some
animal has split it open; but from the evidence to hand we
cannot be sure that this was the work of the Kea.

OS aE

CHAPTER X.

TIME OF ATTACK.

Oh! the dew of darkling mornings on the
grasses green and grey !
Oh! the flush before the saffron, and the
blushes of the snow !
Dark ratas stalking down the gorge (a-waiting
for the day)
To the sheen of rippling waters in the
shingle sweep below.

—M. C. KEANE.

Winter and early spring are the periods of the year
when the Keas are most aggressive in their attacks on sheep,
and this fact seems to intimate that the lack of ordinary
food does much to instigate the attacks, for a heavy winter
generally means a heavy loss of sheep, apart from accidental
losses.

This season in the Kea country is usually a very severe
one, so much so that some of the other birds make for the
plains until the warmer weather returns.

Owing to the high altitude, the cold becomes so intense
that the ground is frozen hard for long periods, especially
on the shady side of the mountains. These parts for many
weeks or even months are as hard as iron, the birds being
thus prevented from obtaining the insect larvae which may
be concealed under the ground. The Keas must find it very
difficult, in severe seasons, to obtain much vegetable food ;
and this very probably, as we have seen, drives them to
satisfy their craving by killing and feeding on sheep.

That very little insect food is obtainable at this season,
in some parts, can be seen from the fact that, when at the
Mt. Algidus Station in July, 1907, though I spent nearly a
whole day in searching in the frozen ground for larve, ete.,

8-16 113

114 THE KEA.

that I thought the Kea might fancy, hunting in all likely
situations, both in the forest and the mountain side, I found
only a very meagre supply.

Not only is food scarce in winter, but the sheep are
easier to kill, for the heavy snow-storms which cover the
eountry bury or half-bury a large number of sheep, and as
they are in many cases unable to move they become an easy

KEA COUNTRY: ArrHUR VALLEY, LOOKING DOWN FROM McKinnon Pass.

prey to the hungry birds. In early spring the climatic
conditions are if anything intensified, and ordinary food is
still searce.

To add to this, the Kea often nests at this time, and
the work of feeding his family makes him very bold and
daring. During the late spring and early summer the

TIME OF ATTACK. 115

ordinary food is more plentiful; the birds kill fewer sheep,
and they do not become a menace again until the middle of
the summer.

This summer trouble may be accounted for by the fact
that at this season most of the snow on the lower slopes has
been melted; and the sheep, keeping to their usual habit of
making for the sky line, soon find themselves among the
Keas. The birds’ opportunity is intensified by the fact that
every night the sheep return when possible to particular
places on the mountain side to sleep. These are termed
““camps,’’ and here the murderers are sure of finding a large
supply of animals on which to experiment.

Their attacks, however, are not altogether confined to any
special time, for they have been known to attack sheep at
all seasons of the year. Still, from what I can gather,
autumn seems to be the time of fewest attacks. No doubt
the plentiful food supply, and perhaps the fact that the
sheep have been shorn, thus giving the birds a poor hold on
the animals’ backs, account for this.

All my correspondents agree that the favourite times of
the day for the bird to commit its depredations are the
early morning and the evening; for, like its cousin, the
Kaka, whether killing sheep or not, it is always lively at
these times.

For this reason it is difficult to obtain photographs of the
birds actually attacking sheep, for the lack of light and the
absence of the shepherd at these times makes the chance of
obtaining a snap-shot extremely small. They have _ been
known to attack at all hours of the day; but they seem to
confine most of the work to the early or late hours.

When attacking in the middle of the day it is nearly
always in dull or foggy weather, though rare cases are known
of their killing sheep even in bright sunshine.

CHAPTER XI.

THE DAMAGE DONE.

Ay! In this realm of seeming rest
What sights you meet and sounds of dread!
—ALFRED DOMETT.

It is no wonder that in the early days people came _ to
look upon the Kea as a terrible menace to the sheep-farming
industry of New Zealand, for some of the stories told and
published about its depredations are enough to stop any
sheep farmer from settling in the country.

Not only did the man on the sheep station put down
most of the annual loss among the flocks to the unfortunate
bird, but several standard books published such exaggerated
and false stories that one can only wonder how they were
ever credited.

Unfortunately, these idle tales are still believed, and are
quoted in other parts of the world against the Kea.

Here are some of the worst.

The late Mr.- Potts, im’ his book “Out in’ ‘the (Opens
says:—‘‘On one outlying portion of a lake run the birds
were so destructive that, although there were 30,000 acres of
good grass land, the occupiers decided not to place stock
upon it; the losses had been so great that it was found
better to abandon the country.”’

The late Sir W. Buller, in his ‘‘ History of New Zealand
Birds,’’ says:—‘‘In some parts of the country the Kea
menace has risen to such a pitch that the run-holders have
been fairly driven off the country.’’

He also publishes the following newspaper report :—‘‘ Mr.
D. A. Cameron, one of our oldest run-holders in the Lake
Country, Otago, is throwing up his run at the Nokomai,.

116

THE DAMAGE DONE. Ey

through the Keas, which, if not more numerous, are according
to report becoming greater adepts at the destruction of
sheep.”’

From these reports one can naturally fill in the sad
details. One can see vast stretches of good sheep country

KEA COUNTRY: Cuinton River ann Mr, MAcKENZIB,

left to the ravages of the hare and the north-wester; and,
where flocks of sheep onee fed and _ flourished, a great
loneliness reigns.

In the valleys the empty homesteads and the lonely back
huts show how far man once penetrated into the fastnesses,
ere the flying terror, decimating his flocks, drove him

118 THE KEA.

with the remnants of his fortune from that plague-infested
region.

Such would be the idea given to the reader from
perusing these accounts; yet, when we look into the question,
nine-tenths of the stories seem to be absolutely false. At any
rate, not a piece of evidence can be found to-day in support
of these wild tales.

In order to test for myself the truth of these statements
made by early writers, I asked for information through the
newspapers that circulate in the very country mentioned by
them.

KEA COUNTRY: Lake Apa, ARTHUR VALLEY, NEAR MILFORD SounND,

By this method, and by writing personally, the following
replies have been received :—

Mr. W. E. Stevens, M.R.C:S:;, E-R:.C.P., Kurow, sayse—
““T know nothing about the throwing up of -the Nokomai run
through the depredations of the Kea in 1880, or of any runs
about the cold lakes district.’’

Mr. W. Robinson says :—‘‘I have to inform you that Mr.

THE DAMAGE DONE. 119

D. A. Cameron is still the lessee of the run in question,
and whilst writing I can see his stock from my window.’’

Mr. Alex. Elliott, from Kinloch Bay, Elgin, adds _ his
testimony, saying :—‘‘I am sure that Mr. Buller made a
great mistake when stating that Mr. D. A. Cameron of the
Nokomai surrendered his run through the Keas. I know the
Nokomai very well, and also Mr. Cameron, and can safely
say that the Kea was never any trouble there.”’

Finally, in order to satisfy myself thoroughly, I wrote to
Mr. D. A. Cameron himself and. received the following
reply :—

Nokomai,
24th June, 1907.
“Dear Sir,
My son Alec has handed me your letter of the 19th inst.,
re ‘‘Kea.’’ There is no truth in the statement that I ever

intended to give up my run owing to excessive damage done
by Keas. Many years ago we had a few here, but they did
not do much damage to the sheep; but on the Closeburn
run on Lake Wakatipu they were very troublesome. I have
been informed that the Lake County paid 2s. 6d. each when
they were at their worst, in order to destroy them. Of
late years they have not been troublesome on that run either.
I have no idea where Mr. Buller and the papers got their
information.
Yours truly,
(Signed) D. A. CAMERON.

Apart from these erroneous published reports it is almost
impossible to get any true estimate of the annual losses,
owing to the nature of the country and the uncertainty of
the reports sent in.

The country is so vast and mountainous, and the sheep
are only mustered at such long intervals, that when the
annual loss is estimated it is impossible to know what
percentage must be debited against the Kea.

There is always a large annual loss due to roughness of
the country, this causing many sheep to be killed by their
falling over cliffs or being buried in the snow.

120 THE KEA.

The damage done by the nefarious birds is sometimes
very serious, and often large numbers of dead _ sheep,
showing the Kea scar, testify to the seriousness of the
menace. However, very rash statements are made by many
writers and musterers, and it is never clear whether the
percentage is on one flock, one run, or the whole
Kea-infested country.

Again, one is never certain whether the killing was
continued throughout the year or confined to one occasion only ;

KEA COUNTRY: CLiInton VALLEY, LOOKING DOWN FROM McKINNON Pass.

and consequently many erroneous and often exaggerated
statistics have been quoted from time to time.

If the Kea killed sheep all through the year at the rate
that it does on certain occasions, or if the Keas in all parts
of the Kea country were equally troublesome, then the loss
would be so severe that sheep-owners would be afraid of
stocking that part of the country with sheep.

Fortunately, however, this is not the case, for the Keas

THE DAMAGE DONE. 121

seem to kill at uncertain intervals; and, after a big slaughter
of the sheep, weeks and months may pass before they again
begin their depredations.

Yet again, they usually confine their attacks to certain
localities, and when the birds there are shot the killing may
cease for years, if not altogether. Some shepherds put the
annual loss in the Kea country at 30 or 40 per cent., but
from what I can ascertain this is an exaggeration, for, if
this percentage were killed annually, there would soon be no
sheep left in the Kea-infested area.

Sometimes, at special places, the killing may be so severe
that it becomes a very serious menace to the sheep-farmers,
as can be seen from the following instances.

A musterer writes :—‘‘I put a mob of sheep off the flat
on to the hills at Makaroa Station, and, on going up the
spur two days afterwards to where the sheep had encamped,
I found six dead.’’

Another gives the following :—‘‘On the Minarets Station,
I remember a mob of almost 1300 hoggets being put on a
spur, and we only mustered 700 off it. The Keas no doubt
were responsible for a large number of them.’’

Three more must suffice.

“One year I had a bad muster; 400 woolly sheep came
in at the beginning of winter when the snow fell and _ the
sheep could not get away. I placed them, as I thought, in
a safe position, on the hillside quite close to where I lived.
In spring, when I went to have a look at them, the Keas
had killed about 200 of them.”

A shepherd, on going to his flock, which he had left the
night before, says:—‘‘I shot nineteen Keas, and on_ looking
round I found that they had killed 38 sheep during the
night. Most of them that I found were warm and in splendid
condition. The flock consisted of 1600 sheep, and during the
winter the Keas killed 300 out of that number, and, as
there were a good many birds about, we shifted the sheep.’’

A run-holder wrote to me, in 1907 :—‘‘No later than last
week we came on 60 valuable ewes killed by them. One of
my shepherds, Watherston, who has communicated with you

122 THE KEA.

on this subject, came on eight Keas killing a ewe. The ewe
was still living, and the lamb was torn out through her
ribs. He sueceeded in shooting all the birds.’’

There seems very little doubt that in many instances the
birds must kill either for sport or in order to have a
number of dead sheep to feed on for some time, for often
many are killed and are left almost untouched.

It seems as if the birds get a murderous frenzy, and
do a lot of damage before their thirst for slaughter is
satiated.

Reckoning over the whole Kea country, I am certain that
5 per cent. of the flocks would well cover the annual loss
due to Keas. Of course, in some runs at certain times this
number is very much exceeded; but, taking the evidence
from all sides, I think that this percentage is near the
mark.

CHAPTER XII.

KEA HUNTING.

The speargrass crackles under the billy and overhead is the
winter sun;

There’s snow on the hills, there’s frost in the gully, that
minds me of things that I’ve seen and done.

I mind the time when the snow was drifting and Billy and
me was out for the night—
We lay in the lee of a rock, and waited, hungry and cold,
for the morning light.
—Davin McKee Wriaar.

When it was discovered that the Kea was probably
responsible for the annual loss of a large number of sheep,
men at once set to work to try to exterminate him.

Incited by the sheep-owner and encouraged by the
Government, an organised massacre was begun, and_ has
continued during the last forty years, resulting in the
slaughter of thousands of these interesting birds.

At first nearly every shepherd and musterer carried
fire-arms, and while going about their work they lost no
opportunity of shooting any Keas that came within gunshot.
The half-crown per head given by the sheep-owner did much
to stimulate the shooting. When, however, owing to being
much hunted, the Kea became difficult to approach, the men
were unable to afford the necessary time to stalk the bird,
and other means of keeping down the pest had to be
adopted.

The station-owners then employed men whose sole duty
was to kill Keas’ and_ rabbits. The position was no
sinecure, for only the strong, agile and _ fearless could
undertake the work.

The hunters were usually supplied with fire-arms,
ammunition, food, horses, etc., and besides receiving a weekly
wage they were paid so much per head for all Keas shot.

he
bo

124 THE KEA.

In order to give a graphic idea of the ordinary routine of
a Kea-hunter’s life, I cannot do better than quote from a
letter from Mr. J. S. Ryan, who for many years hunted this
mountain parrot around Mt. White, Canterbury.

He writes as follows :—‘‘To hunt the Kea for pleasure or
profit is an undertaking that only those who are sound in
wind and limb can indulge in with safety. It is not for

the untrained plainsman or the ‘tired Tims,’ who would
most propably take more time thinking how to get to the
mountain top than they would spend in climbing there. Kea
hunting is mostly combined with rabbiting, since one could
hardly hunt the Kea from day to day throughout the year
without a spell. Rabbiting ‘between whiles’ on the low lands
affords the necessary change. The usual thing is a weekly
wage, and so much per head for Keas, free *‘ tucker’ for self
and dogs, a pack-horse, a riding horse, camping outfit
(consisting of tent, ‘billy,’ knife and fork, tomahawk, and
piece of wire for grid), bread and flour, currants for 7+‘ duff’
on wet days, butter (if there is any), with as much mutton and
potatoes as you care to pack up. To these you add the weekly
sporting paper and magazines. A good appetite between meals
comes of its own accord. You start ‘out back,’ say, on
Monday morning after coming in for supplies. You have a
fair day’s ride to the ‘out back’ hut, where you pull up for
the night, hobble the horses and sleep like a top after the usual
good tea of chops, potatoes and ‘billy’ tea. Next morning
you leave half your supplies at the hut, load up the pack-horse
with the remainder, and then start on your way again. Now
comes the river, which you cross continually as you work your
way up to its source in the same gorge, until you reach the
very heart of the mountains, and the towering rocky walls close
in on you on either side. It is here that the shrill whistle of
the blue mountain duck strikes on your ear through the rush
and roar of the river as it twists and leaps among the
boulders and dashes its spray on to the bush that comes right

*Food. tA tin can for boiling water. +Pudding

KEA HUNTING. 125

down to the water’s edge. You now look out for the best
camping ground you gan find. Having found a place that suits
you, you hobble the horses, after taking them back to the last
bit of good feed you passed, pitch your camp, tie up and feed
the dogs, break birch twigs for a bed, get supper, read for a
while before ‘lights out,’ and then sleep. And how you sleep
among the mountains after a long day’s ride or climb! Now
you are in the very heart of the Kea country, and perhaps you

KEA COUNTRY: In pursuiIr or THE KEA IN SUMMER. FORDING THE
Avoca RIVER,

rouse up to hear the dogs barking and the Keas singing out
overhead. Or you have been dreaming that you are on your
way back to the station with the pack-horse loaded up with
Keas’ heads and your fortune made, and you wake to find a
dog loose among the ‘tucker.’ In either case it’s time to get
up and get a move on if you are to. be among the Keas
before they camp for the day. Having breakfasted on the
inevitable chops, you pack your lunch for the day’s hunting,
the said lunch consisting of more chops (cold), slice of bread

126 THE KEA.

and butter, a +‘ chunk’ of +‘ brownie,’ and tea and sugar, for
you always take the ‘billy’ with you. Cartridges and a light
single-barrelled gun slung over the shoulder finish your
equipment. You put out the fire, unloose a dog, see that
the others are all right, and give them a parting word and
pat, grip your stick, on which your life may depend in
ticklish places, and off you go for a two or three hours’ climb
to the top, just as dawn is beginning to show in the east
and there is still hardly light to enable you to pick your
way among the boulders and fallen timber. The reason you
always take a dog with you in Kea hunting is that if you
should have the ill-luck to break your neck the dog in time
will, owing to hunger, find his way back to the homestead,
and thus give silent notice that something has happened to
his master. Then the search parties go out. Nip, my
favourite spaniel, could spot a Kea on the wing long before
I could. When the birds are flying far overhead they will
eall out. ‘keo-o,’ with the last ‘o’ long drawn out. When
Nip heard this characteristic note, up would go his head,
and he would almost stand on his hind legs. To see him
hunt for that Kea in the sky was laughable indeed. I could
tell when he found the bird by his intense gaze, and by the
beating of his stumpy tail on the ground. Then I would
whistle to the Kea, and unsling my gun, telling Nip to watch
the Kea as it circled round and dived down. The old dog has
fallen backwards many a time, so intent was he on keeping the
Kea in sight. Down would come the bird, well within gun-shot
—J have had to walk away so that I should not blow one to
pieces. When one is paid for killing the birds and _ five
shillings depend on the shot, you do not give the bird a
sporting chance by firing at it on the wing. In hunting the
Kea you must be up on the mountain top about daylight, to
eateh the birds going home after their night’s carouse. The
Kea, however, will be out feeding and courting all day and
all night as well. I have killed them at all hours, from
the first streak of dawn to the last faint glimmer of

yPiece tA kind of currant loaf.

KEA HUNTING. 127

daylight. The best time, however, is either in the evening or the
morning, when they are going to their feeding grounds or leaving
them. They mostly go in pairs in the breeding season ;
then, when the young are able to fly about, they travel for
a-while in families, and afterwards towards the winter they
club together. JI once counted over thirty in a mob, but alas,
through having been among the rabbits, my ammunition had
almost run out, and I only got nine out of them. The Kea is,

KEA COUNTRY: Avtraor’s Camp,

I am confident, the most inquisitive bird alive. One may be
just visible as a speck in the sky, but if it has no important
engagement on hand a whistle will often bring it down to you
at once. It was my habit when shooting Keas to pick off the
outsiders or timid ones first, if there were more than two,—I
always took two at a time. At the report from the gun the
others would give a nervous start, erect the few feathers that

128 THE KEA.

do duty for a top-knot and look at me as much as to say ‘ What
the dickens was that noise?’ You may go for days without
seeing a single bird, for Kea hunting is rather a_ lottery,
but I would keep going where they had been seen at the
sheep, and I was bound to get them in the long run. The
Kea-hunter’s life is not all ‘beer and skittles,’ still, with all
the hardships through getting caught in fog or snow on the
tops, and so forth, there is something fascinating about it.

KEA COUNTRY: In purRSUIT OF THE KEA IN WINTER,

When once you have got a taste of the free life, fresh air,
and sunshine of a kind which is only found amongst the
mountains, you can never forget it, and at times the longing
to climb once again is almost irresistible.’’

As Kea hunting is taken up by men all over the Kea
country, and each man has to find out the most successful
method of killing the birds, there were and are many
different ways employed. The commonest method is_ by
shooting them with a shot gun, and as the birds are
extremely tame and inquisitive it is not usually very difficult
to get near them once they are in view.

KEA HUNTING. 129

Several devices are employed to entice the birds within
range, and one which is very successful is the using of a
decoy. A tame Kea is chained to a _ rock, and his noisy,
excited cries soon attract other Keas that are in the vicinity.
As these appear they are shot by the Kea-hunter, who is
hidden behind a rock.

An extension of this device is to get two Keas in
separate cages and to place them so that they cannot see one
another, yet near enough to hear each other’s cries. This
causes them to make a great fuss in trying to attract each
other, and is generally successful in bringing down a_ lot of
their wild mates.

One man I knew used to take a square yard of scarlet
cloth, which he carefully spread out over a rock, placing
stones on it to prevent the wind from carrying it away.
The vivid colour can be seen a_ long distance away, in
contrast to the sombre colouring of the mountain = side;
and the Keas, sighting it, heedless of the hidden danger, fly
down to satisfy their curiosity, and so become spoil for the
hunter’s gun.

Some men have learned to imitate the Kea’s peculiar call,
and this seldom fails to add heads to the heap _ already
obtained.

When a number of Keas is present and the Kea-hunter
has no more eartridges, the following trick is sometimes
resorted to. While in full sight of the birds, he walks
behind an overhanging ledge of rock and remains quiet; the
Keas, who have been watching his every movement, are
almost overwhelmed with a longing to know where he has
vanished. They fly on to the rock, and have a somewhat
animated discussion as to the reason of his disappearance.
Finally one bird walks to the edge and peeps over at him
as much as to say, ‘‘What on earth are you doing there””’
This is the Kea-hunter’s chance; there is a swift blow from
his stick, and the Kea topples over. The other birds, seeing
that number one has not come back to report, but has also
disappeared over that mysterious ledge, likewise go to inspect,
and often quite a number are killed in this strange way.

9-16

130 THE KEA.

The second general method is to shoot the birds while
they are feeding on the remains of a sheep. The men _ take
the bearings of some sheep that has been killed, and if
they cannot find a carcase they sometimes kill a beast and
then camp near it at night. Moonlight nights are generally
chosen, so that the birds can be seen at the body, and
usually a number of Keas fly down from the surrounding
peaks and begin to gorge themselves. The men do not shoot
them at once, but wait until the birds’ have — stuffed
themselves with meat and fat. Then they are shot one after
the other, for they are too lazy and full to hasten away.

One correspondent gives the following account :—‘‘ At
Makaroa Station in spring I was shooting Keas pretty well
every night when I carried a gun. I would hunt about for dead
cearcases. If I came on a freshly-killed sheep, or one partly
eaten, I was always sure of a good haul. I would wait
about until the Keas came. Sometimes they would arrive in
mobs; at other times in a straggling way. I would then
take up my position, a little distance off the meat, and wait
until they got on to it to feed. My object was to line them so
as to get as many as I could at one shot. Though they would
fly off at each shot, they would be back again almost
immediately. I would keep at them in this way until they got
a little frightened, then I would follow them up and_ shoot
them as I could. I think the largest number that I ever
got in that way was sixty-three off two dead sheep. I have at
other times got from twenty to fifty; but often I would
only get about six or seven, and at other times none at
aleze

Mr. Robert Guthrie, an old Kea-hunter, thus describes his
experience in connection with one ‘‘camp,’’ where the Keas
were very troublesome:—‘‘ The ‘camp’ was as usual high up; it
was situated on a large plateau, where it was impossible to get
near without disturbing the sheep and the Keas. I used to
wait till well on in the night, and go, as quietly as possible,
straight to the camp. The Keas, nine of them, were there
the first night. I got two of them, and they came fairly
regularly until I had got them all but one. This one was

KEA HUNTING. 131

from the very first in the habit of rising rather wild, and I
got to know it well from an unusual call that it had.
However, although I got eight out of the nine, the killing
went on as badly as ever. Sometimes as many as three sheep
would be killed in one night, but, try as I would, I could not
steal unawares upon the culprit, for he was always alert and
became very sparing with his peculiar call. After many nights
of weary walk and disappointment (I had a ten mile tramp
each time, five miles there and five miles back), it struck me
that its call, after it had flown away, always came from the
same direction. This was across a deep gorge, among some
almost inaccessible rocks.

““The next day I went and carefully examined the rocks,
and I could see in an open crevice, about sixty feet above me,
a hole, which I was satisfied was the Kea’s run. I came to
the conclusion that this would be a likely place for him _ to
spend the time after his night’s carnival; and I determined,
therefore, at first full moon to bring my gun and _ watch
below for his home coming. ‘

“After a good many disappointments, I was sitting on a
stone about three o’clock one clear frosty morning in August
just beneath the crevices, and was just dropping off to
sleep, with my gun on my knees, when a_ black shadow
crossed the stones at my feet.

‘‘T looked up, and saw a Kea just alighting on the edge
of the rock. I had it down in a twinkling. It was no
doubt the old bird, for in my time on the station there
were no more sheep killed in the camp.’’

The last general method employed is a very effective one,
though sometimes risky, and consists in poisoning the dead
ecarecases of the sheep that have been killed by the Kea.
Strychnine is sometimes used alone; but more often this is
mixed with arsenic, which is found to be very effective.

A dead sheep, preferably one killed by the Kea, is half
skinned and ‘the poison is rubbed in, sometimes the Kea
wounds alone being treated.

During the night the birds come to feed on the remains
of their earlier carousal, and usually by daylight a number

132 THE KEA.

of Keas will be found lying on or around the dead _ body.

One Kea-hunter says :—‘‘ Another camp where the Keas
used to kill was very high up, in a rough place which was
almost inaccessible at night. I shot what Keas I could find
about in the day time, but never the right one, for the
killing still continued. I half skinned a sheep they had
killed in the camp, and put strychnine in it. When I came
back in a few days I found five dead Keas. That ended the
killing of the sheep in that camp.”’

From North Otago, where the Keas are still plentiful,
comes the following account :—‘‘ We then baited three of the
sheep carcases with strychnine, and sent a man out to camp
on the spur. He picked up eight poisoned Keas, two of
which were actually on top of the carcase, as well as
shooting twenty more of the birds.’’

The poisoning has this advantage, that, if it does not
always poison the Keas that kill the sheep, it at least kills
those who gather round to share the spoil.

But this method, though very effective, has _ its
disadvantages, for the poisoned carcase may remain for
months and be a continual menace to all sheep-dogs passing
that way. Shepherds are continually travelling up and down
the country accompanied by numerous’ sheep-dogs, which
owing to their splendid training are invaluable in the rough
country. It is almost impossible to keep them always in
sight; and, as they seem to be ever hungry, unless great
eare is taken they get at the poisoned carcase. In this way
a shepherd, in attempting to rid his station of Keas, may
lose more by the death of his dog than he has through the
ravages of the birds all the winter. Therefore poisoning has
to be done with great care; and, rather than leave the
earcase to rot, it is often finally burnt and the remains are buried.

Even since suspicion fell on the Kea he has been legally
branded as an outlaw. No game laws protect him. He knows
not the peace of a close season. Regarded as having his beak
against every man, every man’s hand has been against him.

Unfortunately, no full record has been kept of the numbers
killed, but the following statistics will give some idea of the

KEA HUNTING. 33

o)

carnage. The Selwyn County Council has paid out, since 1887,
£262 9s. 6d.

The Ashburton County Council since 1891 has paid out £24
16s. 6d., while the Amuri County Council received 531
heads in one season. Mr. Rolleston, from a small run of his
in Ashburton County, received 800 heads in one season; and
the Lake County Council up to 1884, had paid for 2000 beaks.

Another office received 1574 heads; while, since 1889, the
McKenzie County Council has paid out £193 6s. 6d. for 3866
Keas.

KEAS’ HEADS: AS THEY ARE RECEIVED AT THE
County CouNcIL OFFICES.

The price paid per head by the different Councils depends a
good deal on the amount of damage done, though usually 2s.
6d. is the price; to-day several men do not consider 10s. per
head too high a price.

Mr. E. B. Milton, of Birch Hill Station, Canterbury, in a
letter to me on the payment for Keas’ heads, says :—‘‘I have

134 THE KEA.

paid ten shillings per head since 1900, and in my experience the
damage done to the sheep has not been serious since a
substantial reward was instituted. The payment of a high price
for heads is the best means of keeping shepherds and others,
engaged in the hill country, continually on the war path.
Four of my neighbours now pay ten shillings each for heads.’’

Up to 1906 the Government paid 6d. per head, but this
has been raised to ls.; and, as the station owners usually
pay ls. 6d., the men receive altogether 2s. 6d. per head.

When the birds are shot either the upper mandible is
pulled off and kept in a match box until the station is
reached, or else the head is screwed off and, when
brought in to the homestead, threaded on a string or wire.

It is quite a common sight on the back stations to see
a number of old decaying heads hanging on a nail in some
little-used shed. Here they usually remain until a_ stock
inspector visits the place or some one pays a visit to the
nearest town. It naturally follows that the heads become
so decayed that the offensive odour given out from them
makes it almost impossible to count them out.

One County Council clerk promised to send me down a
large supply of heads for scientific purposes, but they smelt
so badly that he knew the railway authorities would refuse
to carry them, and so he buried the heads to get rid of them.

CHAPTER XIII.

DISTRIBUTION.

From the dark gorge where burns the morning star,
IT hear the glacier river rattling on

And sweeping o’er his ice-ploughed shingle-bar,
While wood-owls shout in sombre unison.

And fluttering southern dancers glide and go;

And black swans’ airy trumpets wildly, sweetly blow.

—ANNE GLENNY WILSON.

The area of the Kea’s distribution is continuous, but very
limited. Itis confined solely to the mountain country of the
South Island of New Zealand, which extends for 400 miles in
one direction and 80 miles in the other, making altogther an
area of some 40,000 square miles.

Wherever there is mountainous country in the South
Island, with the exception of the Kaikoura Mountains in the
North East, the Kea can be found.

It was first discovered by Mr. W. Mantell in 1856 in
the Murihuku district, which embraces _ practically all
Southland. It was a rara avis, and some thought that it
was confined to Southland. However, as soon as men pierced
the raountain fastnesses that run up the west coast of the
island, its distribution was found to be much wider. A few
years after its discovery others were found, not only in
Southland and Otago, but in Canterbury as far north as the
Rangitata Gorge, about 200 miles north from where it was
first seen. In 1859 Sir Julius von Haast saw it in the
Mount Cook region, and a year later Sir W. Buller found it
in the Rangitata Gorge.

As early as 1862 Sir James Hector noticed it in most of
the snow mountains of Otago, during his Geological Survey
of that province, and in the same year Sir Julius von Haast
saw one on the Godley Glacier. In 1865 Sir Julius found it
a long way above its supposed limit, — around Browning’s

135

136 THE KEA.

Pass at the source of the Wilberforce River; and two years
later he saw it still further north, near Arthur’s Pass on
the West Coast road.

In 1868 Keas had become common around the Lakes
which lie on the borderline of Otago and Canterbury, and
ten years later they had increased all round the spot where
they were first found, for Sir W. Buller speaks of them as
being plentiful in Southland.

In 1881 they were again seen at Arthur’s Pass, for Dr.
L. Cockayne (in a communication to me) states that his
brother-in-law, Mr. A. Blakely, shot one there at that
date.

A year later, in 1882, Mr. W. Potts reported that Keas
were known at Grassmere on the West Coast road, and in
Lochinvar Station, North Canterbury, and at the head waters
of the Esk and Hurunui, that is, about forty miles still
further north of Arthur’s Pass their then supposed
northernmost limit.

In view of all these facts it is surprising to find Sir W.
Buller, in 1883, quoting a letter from a Mr. Shrimpton to
the effect that the Keas’ area of distribution did not extend
north of the Rakaia River. This is the more striking, because
both Dr. Haast and Mr. Potts had already published
records of Keas seen northward of that limit. The former
found them at Arthur’s Pass, 40 miles north of the Rakaia,
in 1867; and the latter tells of their being seen at Hurunui,
another 40 miles north of Arthur’s Pass.

Later, in 1888, Mr. W. W. Smith, in a published article,
says that Keas had, during the previous three years, just
reached the ranges above the Otira Gorge. However, like
Sir W. Buller, he had evidently not seen the report of Dr.
Haast as to their being seen years before at Arthur’s Pass,
which is as far north as the Otira Gorge.

It has been freely stated by writers on the Kea that,
since its discovery in Southland, the bird has gradually
migrated northward through the Otago and Canterbury
provinces. This suggestion has not only been published, but has
been almost universally adopted as true. This wide-spread

DISTRIBUTION. 137

acceptance is unfortunate ; for, on looking up all the available
records, I find that the evidence does not support the
statement. The evidence rather indicates that, whenever and
wherever men have penetrated the mountainous country of the
three lower provinces of the South Island, Keas have been
found in the parts explored. It was because the Otago and
Southland mountains were explored first, and the Canterbury
mountains a little later, that the idea of the northern migration
was suggested, and very likely, if Dr. Haast and Sir James
Hector had explored the Canterbury alpine region first, the
alleged migration might have had its direction reversed.

Even if we take the dates and places of the Kea’s
discovery, the facts do not uphold the theory. In 1856 Mr. W.
Mantell found the Kea in Southland,—the exact spot is not
recorded. Then, instead of finding it a few miles further north
in Otago, Dr. Haast discovered it three years later at Mt. Cook
in Canterbury, about two hundred miles further north, thus
missing the large Otago province which lies between. It was
not till three years later that Sir James Hector reported it to
be among the snow mountains of the intervening province.

In the same year Dr. Haast saw it at Browning’s Pass,
about 80 miles still further north, and in 1867 it was known
at the Lochinvar Station, sixty miles further north again of
Browning’s Pass. We have no record of the Kea_ being
found further north than the Lochinvar Station until 1882.
This is very likely due to the fact that no scientific man
explored the country. If one did, he left no available
records.

It will thus be seen that, instead of the Kea’s area of
distribution being increased a few miles further north year
by year, as would have been the case had the birds travelled
north, the birds were found at different places, sometimes
200 miles north of their previous location, while they were
not found in the intervening country until many years
afterwards.

It is also very unlikely that, the moment the birds were
discovered, they made a rush northward, so that in eleven
years they had migrated 300 miles from their old homes.

138 THE KEA.

There are two pieces of evidence entirely against this
unlikely proceedure.

First, if the Keas had migrated, then they should have
become rare in Otago and Southland; but in fact they were
not very plentiful in the south until after 1868, and by this
time the Kea was recorded at Lochinvar, some three hundred
miles further north.

Second, the reason given for the Kea’s migration is
that the systematic slaughter in the early days drove them
north; but the whole idea falls to the ground when we
remember that, in 1867, a year before the bird was even
suspected of sheep killing, and so a year before the slaughter
of the bird began, the Kea was recorded from the Lochinvar
district, that is, the very country into which it was alleged
to have been driven by the aforesaid systematic slaughter.

There is however, a lot of sound evidence to show that
the Keas’ area of distribution is widening. This widening is
due, as far as I can ascertain, to the great increase in their
numbers; for, though their numbers have been thinned by
forty years of continuous slaughter, they are still numerous
in many parts.

It was noticed that, soon after the birds began to kill
sheep and eat them, their numbers increased so that where
they had been seen in tens they could be seen in fifties.
Many sheep owners put this down to the plentiful supply
of food obtained from the dead animals.

This would appear at first sight to show that all Keas
killed sheep; but I have already, I hope, made clear that
only a comparative few do the killing, though the rest may
join in the feast.

This increase has naturally caused the Keas’ area of
distribution to expand; and now, instead of confining them-
selves to the main ranges, they come down even as far as
the foot hills on the east and the sea coast on the west.
The latter limit is supported by the fact that they have
been seen at Koiterangi, near Hokitika, and at Mahitahi, near
Bruce Bay; while in June of 1906 Captain Bollons, of the

DISTRIBUTION. 139

Government Steamer, ‘‘ Hinemoa,’’ told me that he saw one
flying along the beach at Bruce Bay itself.

To the east they have come down to the edge of the
plains. and south almost to the coast line. The only
direction in which the birds can now extend is north into
Nelson and Marlborough; and, though the Keas’ northernmost
limit remained at the head waters of the Esk and Hurunui
Rivers for about forty years after their discovery, there has
been during the last few years a spreading into these two
northern provinces. The stations around Hanmer have been
troubled with Keas for some years, and in 1908 Mr. Edward
Kidson, while climbing Mt. Robert near Lake Roto-iti, Nelson,
saw one at close quarters. This spot is about 40 miles south-
west of Nelson city and 40 miles north of Hanmer. Mr H.
M. Bryant, who was accompanying Mr. Kidson at the time
and has done a _ lot of mountaineering in the Nelson
province, states that he had never before seen one in that
district; while the late owner of the station at Mt. Robert
told him that it was the first time that a Kea had been
seen on his run.

Through the kindness of Mr. G. R. Kidson, I am able to
record two other instances in the Nelson province. In 1904
a Kea was caught by Mr. A. G. Hammond at Appleby, only
thirteen miles south-west of Nelson city, and in the same
year Mr. T. S. Rowling caught one at Riwaka, a few miles
north of Motueka, about 50 miles north-west of Nelson and
95 miles north of Hanmer.

This is at present the northernmost limit of the Kea’s area
of distribution, which may be defined on the north as reaching
the shores of Cook Strait.

Through the aid of Mr. T. E. Currie, I can now publish
reports of the Kea’s presence in the Marlborough province,
where before it was practically unknown, showing that in
addition to travelling up north-west through Nelson, they are
also travelling up north-east through Marlborough.

In January, 1906, one was found at the hend of the
Waihopai River, at a place known as the Glazebrook Whare.

Again, in May, 1906, one was seen on the ‘Tarndale

140 THE KBEA.

Station, about halfway up the Saxton River, some miles north
of the homestead.

Another correspondent reports that he has seen one thirty
miles only from Blenheim, the capital of the province.

Now that Keas have reached the north coast of the South
Island, one wonders if the Cook Strait will prove a_ sufficient
barrier to prevent them from flying over to the North Island
and spreading there.

The two islands are only 15 miles apart at their nearest
points, and on a clear day the opposite coast can easily be seen.

This northern extension of recent years does not, I consider,
in any way support the old idea that the birds migrated
northward for a decade or so after their discovery.

They were known at the Lochinvar Station about 1866-7,
and since then they have practically not made any further
advance until 1900; but at the present time they are certainly
spreading northward.

The migration may be due to the increased numbers, or
perhaps to the incessant slaughter which has been going on for
some years.

What really started the northern migration theory was
knowledge of the fact that, though the Keas themselves never
migrated northward in the early days, yet the habit of
sheep-killing has extended from Otago northward to Nelson.
No one thought of recording the Keas’ presence as long as
they did no harm, but as soon as they began to harass the
flocks reports were sent to the daily papers.

As the habit gradually spread northward many jumped
to the conclusion that the birds had just arrived, whereas in
many instances we know that the birds were on some of
the stations years before they commenced to kill.

For instance, at Browning’s Pass the Keas were seen in
1865, but no cases of sheep-killing were known until 1886.

The first instance recorded of sheep-killing was in 1868
in the south near Lake Wanaka; and thence the killing has
spread south to Lake Wakatipu and north to the Amuri
district, including Hanmer. About 1880 the bird’s depredations
were recorded at the lakes south of Canterbury, and by 1886,

DISTRIBUTION. 141

after passing north through the Peel Forest and the Ashburton
Gorge, the Kea had commenced to kill sheep around Mt.
Torlesse. Since then it has slowly extended north to the
stations in the Amuri District, and so badly affected were they
that in 1906 a meeting of runholders was held in Culverden to
try to abate the nuisance.

So far I have no records of sheep-killing in Marlborough
and North Nelson, though the Keas are now found there.

In Westland also the Keas have spread, for in 1906 Mr.
Condon, of Bruce Bay, South Westland, for the first time
had some sheep killed by Keas.

BONES OF KEA: Founp in CuHatHam ISLANDS.

The fact that no fossils of Keas have been found in the
North Island of New Zealand seems to indicate that the birds
never extended further than the South Island; but, while in
the Museum, Christchurch, I unexpectedly came across two
wing bones and a lower mandible of a Kea, obtained from
the Chatham Islands. These interesting specimens were
presented to the Museum by Mr. J. J. Fougere, of Te One,
on the main island, and were identified by the late Capt. F.
W. Hutton. These, with some more Keas’ bones and _ other
sub-fossils, were found in some drifting sand-hills at Petre
Bay, by Mr. Fougere, in 1897. In a letter he states: “Ido

142 THE KEA.

not think the Kea or Kaka were ever numerous in_ the
Chatham Islands, as their remains are rare in comparison
with the other fossil avi-fauna.’’

From the number of fossils already discovered, there seems
to have been a much larger avi-fauna on the islands than at
present.

This is supported by a pamphlet written by Dr. Arthur
Dendy, (then Professor of Biology, Canterbury College), who
visited these islands in 1901.

He says :—‘‘ All who have studied the question are agreed
that the fauna and flora of the Chatham Islands are simply
isolated detachments of those of New Zealand, although the
striking differences which we have had occasion to notice imply
a long period of isolation. This view of the case requires us to
believe that the islands, though now separated by 400 miles of
open ocean, were at one time either actually connected with the
New Zealand mainland, or, at any rate, much more nearly so
than at the present day, a belief which is strongly supported
by the fact that the sea between New Zealand and_ the
‘“Chathams is comparatively shallow, only from 500 to 1000
metres in depth, while further to the east it sinks at once to
4,500 metres (Diels). In the Upper Pliocene period it is
probable that the area of New Zealand was greatly extended
so as to embrace, for example, Chatham Islands in the east,
Lord Howe Island in the north-west, Auckland and Campbell
Islands in the south. . . . . . This condition is supposed to
have lasted on into the Pleistocene times, and to have been
followed by another depression, which left the islands very
much in their present condition. The former land connection
thus roughly sketched out, together with the ocean current
already referred to, would be quite sufficient to account for
the great resemblance between the fauna and flora of the
Chatham Islands and those of New Zealand.”’

The geology of the islands seems to indicate that they
once formed part of the large area, as is shown by the presence
of schists and similar rocks, while the ‘finding of limestone
seems to point to a depression at a later period.

DISTRIBUTION. 143

The land thus seems to have been elevated and again
‘depressed, leaving it very much in its present condition.
_ This closer connection between the two groups of islands
may explain the presence of Kea fossils on the Chathams.
This theory, however, only adds mystery to the strange fact
that no Keas or Kea-fossils have ever been found in the North
Island, situated only 15 miles away.

THE KEA’S. EXTINCTION.

As early as 1888, Sir W. Buller says that he is certain that
these interesting birds would soon be extinct, but in spite of
the thousands that have been killed they are still common in
the mountainous country of the South Island. No doubt the
almost inaccessible position of their nests, and the rough nature
of the country in which they live, are responsible for their
preservation.

When harassed they often retreat to the most inaccessible
fastnesses of the Alps. Here they are practically safe, for
this exceedingly rough country can never be of much use
except for scenic purposes. It is, therefore, doubtful if the
Kea will become extinct for many years to come.

If, however, closer settlement of the land, accompanied by
the destruction of the forest and the systematic slaughter now
going on, should threaten to exterminate the Keas, I would
suggest that, in order to prevent these interesting birds from
becoming absolutely lost to the scientific world, a number of
them should be placed on one of the outlying islands, where
they could live and flourish without doing injury to any one.
The most suitable islands, as far as I can ascertain, are the
Aucklands, which lie 190 miles south-by-west from the most
southerly point of Stewart Island. There would be very little
chance of the birds returning to the mainland; and though the
hills rise to a height of about 2,000ft. only, there seems to be
enough forest and high country to make a very satisfactory
reserve for these interesting parrots.

ATTACKING OTHER ANIMALS.
Though the sheep are favourite objects of the Kea’s attack,
it does not seem to confine itself to them, for several instances

144 THE KEA.

are reported where horses, dogs and rabbits have been mauled.
I do not consider that these attacks are really made to procure
food, but rather for fun and mischief.

One correspondent gives the following account of an attack
upon a horse :—‘‘ The pack-horse was tethered on a piece of flat
ground about ten chains from the camp. After we had tea, I
strolled over to where there was a large flock of Keas on a
little knoll above the pack-horse. This would be about an hour
before dusk. One or two flew down on to the horse’s back.
He was an old, stiff-built cobby horse of very sluggish nature.
He took no notice of the Keas when they flew off and on his
back for some time, giving him an occasional peck. At last
an old fellow perched on his back and started operations in a
most serious manner. He soon had the old horse showing more
life than he had ever done before ; in fact, before he got the
Kea dislodged, he was almost mad. When I got down to him,
he was in a heavy sweat, and the blood was trickling slightly
over his loins. On examination I found a nasty wound that
took a long time to heal, as it became very dirty. Ever after,
the horse would go almost frantic when there were any Keas
about.’’

Shepherds report that rabbits are sometimes killed by them,
while dogs are often worried by their attentions. The birds
are sometimes found eating the carecases of deer.

One case is known where a human body was torn about by
them. On the Minarets Station a musterer was sent out to
attend to some sheep on high country. The station is famous
for its rugged and dangerous peaks, and is said to contain some
of the wildest country on a sheep run. At night the man
failed to report himself, and a search party was sent out to
seek him. They found his body lying in a gully, where he had
evidently fallen from the heights above. It was attended by
two or three Keas, who had torn holes in his clothes, and
already torn the flesh about. This is, I think, the only instance
known where the Keas have attacked a human body. From
the position of the body it is almost certain that the man
was dead a long time before the birds began to maul him.

ADDRESSES OF CORRESPONDENTS.

BATHGATES, A. : : 5 é : ‘ Dunedin, Otago
BELL, D. 2 : ; F Hawea Lake Station, Otago
BELL,- J. M. ; A ‘ Director of the N.Z. Government

Geological Survey, Wellington
BENHAM, W. B., F.R.S. Curator, Otago Museum, Dunedin, Otago

BIGGAR, G. F 5 5 : : : Croydon, Southland
BODKIN, W. A. ; : ‘ , ; ; Clyde, Otago
BOLLONS,-J. . ; F ‘ . Captain G.S.S. ‘‘ Hinemoa ”’
BOND: J. ‘HH. C. : ; ; : . Templeton, Canterbury
BRODERICK, T. W. ‘ : : Gisborne, Hawkes Bay
BRYANT, W.. H. : : : : : Brightwater, Nelson
BURNETT, Andrew . ; Aorangi Station, Cave, Canterbury
BURNETT, Donald . Sawdon Station, Burke’s Pass, Canterbury
CAMERON, D. A. . : : : : Nokomai, Southland
CAMERON, Ewen : : . Pembroke, Lake Wanaka, Otago
CAMERON, H. E. . : . Longslip Station, North Otago
CAMPBELL, J... : ; . : : : : . Cromwell
CHALLIS, P. E. , 2 : Parawa, Southland
COCKAYNE, L., Ph.D. Ollivier’s ant Christchurch, Canterbury
CONDON, T. s ; ; 4 ‘ Mahitahi, Westland
CUNNINGHAM, C. A... Dept. of Agriculture, Christchurch
CURRIE, T.. E. ; : . Canterbury College, Christchurch
DAW, Fred. : ; : : : : Miller’s Flat, Otago
DUNBAR. Peter : : : Wairau, Amuri, Marlborough
ELLIOTT, A. : : ; : : Elfin Bay, Kinloch
FAULKS, -J. : : rae Station, Lake Wanaka, Otago
FINLAYSON, Donald. 5 Lochindorb, Station, Puerua, Otago
HORIDS We N: eer . Pembroke, Lake Wanaka, Otago
FOSTER, Reginald Haseldon Papanui, Christchurch, Canterbury
HOUGERE, Ji: Ji : P 3 . Te One, Chatham Islands
FRASER, A. : ‘ F ; : Stock Inspector, Nelson
GARDINER, W. G. . : : J : 3 . Bannockburn

10—8 : 145

146 THE KEA.

GULLY, —. é : P . Acclimatisation Gardens, Nelson
GUTHRIE, Robt. : : : . Burke’s Pass, Canterbury
HAMMOND, A. G. . : : : F . Appleby, Nelson
HARPER, A. PB: 3 ” : j . Greymouth, Westland
HARCOURG, Ra Aw 4 . Koiterangi, Hokitika, Westland
HASSAL, R. H. : . Benmore Station, Omarama, Otago
HECKLER, H. T ; . Stock Department, Lumsden, Southland
HILGENDORF, F. W., M.A., D.Se. Agricultural College, Lincoln,

Canterbury
HODGKINSON, H. E. : ; : Pukeuri, Oamaru, Otago
HOLMES, M. S. j : ‘ : ‘5 . Kakanui
IRONSIDE, John : 2 . Pembroke, Take Wanaka, Otago
IZARD, Miss Eva 4 : : . ““ Whanaka,’’ Christchurch
JENNINGS, E. . : ; ‘ : Otago Museum, Dunedin
KENNEDY, E. . : : : ‘ , Eskhead, Hawarden
KIDSON, Edward Canterbury College, Christchurch, Canterbury
KING, John H. : : . Pembroke, Lake Wanaka, Otago
(AKG Coo Ci ane ; Ollivier’s Road, Christchurch, Canterbury
LOGAN, W. ; ; ‘ . Double Hill Station, Canterbury
McFARLANE, D. . : ; ; Peel Forest, Canterbury
McDONALD, D. . The Hermitage, Mt. Cook, Canterbury
McDONALD, J. Drumfern, Dipton, Southland
McGREGOR, J. . : : Burke’s Pass, Canterbury
McGREGOR, R. H. . : : A : Hawea Flat, Otago
McINTOSH, John : : : : Burke’s Pass, Canterbury
MicKAy., Ac Ji, : ; F . Geraldine, Canterbury
McKENZIE, Hugh F ; Béolwale; Station, Nightcaps, Southland
McKENZIE, Roderick : _ : ; Birchwood, Southland
McLEOD, G. : . ‘* Marathon Farm,’’ Tikorangi, Taranaki
MILTON, E. B. : Birch Hill Station, Rangiora, Canterbury
NOMAR, R. : ; : : : : ‘ . Albert Town
O’BRIAN, FE. R. ” : : E ‘ : 2 . Blenheim
RIDES, €. WV. . : . Acclimatisation Gardens, Christchurch
ROBINSON, Wm. , Hydraulic Sluicing Coy., Ltd., Nokomai
ROWLINGS, 8S. T. . : é : Riwaka, Nelson
RUTHERFORD, George . Dalene Russell’s Flat, Canterbury
RYAN, J. : : . Christchurch

SCOTT, H. ; Ree’s ‘Valley Station: Gio Lake Wakatipy

ADDRESSES OF CORRESPONDENTS. 147

SCOTT, John ; P 3 Bannockburn, via Cromwell, Otago
SHUTTLE, W.. J. : : ; ; f : Ashwick Station
SMITH, A. ; . 5 : : : Fairlie, Canterbury
Kk. F. STEAD d ‘ : ; : : : Christchurch
SUTHERLAND, J. . , Benmore Station, Oamaru, Otago
SYMONS, C. W. : : : ; Christchurch, Canterbury
TOMS, Thomas . . Richmond Station, Lake Tekapo, Canterbury
MURTON, J. G. : : . Peel Forest, Canterbury
URQUHART, R. : F : . Algidus Station, Canterbury
WATHERSTON, A. . Rees Valley, Station, Glenorchy,
Lake Wakatipu, Otago
WILSON, A. : : : . Pembroke, Lake Wanaka, Otago

WILSON, Thomas 2 : ; . Alford Forest, Canterbury

MAP OF THE

im)
SOUTH ISLAND S
OF a
NEW ZEALAND. :
=
Miles
REFERENCE.

MAP OF THE SOUTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND, SHOWING
THE KEA’S DISTRIBUTION.

1—Places where Keas have been seen to attack sheep aud from which authentic accounts have been
sent 1n.

2—Places where Keas have been reported to have attacked sheep, but from which no account has
been sent in,

3 - Places where Keas have been reported to have been seen.
4—Capital towns of the provinces,

LITERATURE.

“Animals of New Zealand,’ p. 135.
“* Australasia,’” Wallace, p. 290.
Brehm’s ‘‘ Thierleben-Vogel,’’ vol. i., p. 166.
““ British Museum Catalogue,’’ vol. xx, p. 4.
Cambridge Nat. Hist. Birds, Evans, pp. 364, 374.
“‘Climbs in New Zealand Alps,’’ Fitzgerald, p. 360.
** Darwinism,’’ Wallace, p. 75.
““ Dictionary of Birds,’’ Newton, p. 627.
““Geology of Canterbury and Westland,’’ Haast: (a) p. 22;
(b) p. 36; (C) p. 117; @ p. 148.
““History of New Zealand Birds,’’ Buller: vol. i., (a) p. 165;
(by =p. W673) er p- 2 169:
‘Journal fur Ornithologie,’’ Marz, 1872.
** Nature,’’ vol. iv., p. 489.
ps Lon.
joNature,:? Svol. |xiiz, ap. 366;

‘* Nature,’’ vol. v

= Natures? -volke Ixxili..) ps — 500

““New Zealand Journal of Science,’’ 1891, p. 2038.

““Otago Daily Times,’’ February 16, 1906.

“Otago Daily Times,’’ March 22, 1906.

* Out: in the Open;”2. Potts: (a) p:. i883. (b) p. 189:

> Press,”” -Christchurch; July 12; 1907.

““ Proceedings of the Zoological Society,’’ 1856, p. 94.

““The Scientific American,’’ vol. xecvii., No. 9, p. 154.

“‘ Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,’’ vol. iii : (a) p. 18;
(b)' <p. 52 (Cc) p.- 86:

““Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,’’ vol. iv., 210.

“Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,’’ vol. xi., p. 376.

“Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,’’ vol. xvi., p. 316.

““ Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,’’ vol. xvii., p. 449.

“Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,’’ vol. xviii. : (a)
Ps 898s o(b)e apa lle:

150

LITERATURE. 151

‘‘Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,’’ vol. xxi., p. 212.

‘““Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,’’ vol, xxvii., p. 278.

‘““Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,’’ vol. xxxix., p. 7],
and p. 271.

‘““ Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,’’ vol. xl., p. 934.

‘‘ Westland, : Geology of Hokitika Sheet, North Quadrangle,’’
T9068 pe,. 13.

S7O0lOMISta Stile, “VOl.- xXxIx.

“* Zoologist,’’ 1881, p. 290.

““ Zoologist,’’ 1888, p. 276.

88 CoLomBo S' Ch-CH NZ

SS
aN
:

Piso)

eee,
ety
Se

ff

ae
fh
BURN
sucte

Zs

i
=e)
a)

=
itt = WN
LR

Mieseelly ow iifes ‘
bits \Y ny =: LE HRN
\

fj = i LER
YW tienda NY BS AN a ie Hy Re HIN

RY Yh

a REN y
SAW
\\

Hs

Ey
%

. wire yy
oe

Ay it
4,
MY

%,
i
te,

ey

\ ii
hg SSS TY : &
SAN pes ydadee ss 4
NSS YU Hse NSS pie i My
Se ff R AA
S fy

\\
RE < ¥

ay
ae
SAN

oy
Saas

5: =: = — > UE JH ee ——
hata. Mahe, .
BEAN {ee Seeeatasdsinnet. Se

pe x Bsc FAR AW
WU fyi= aN NS sie \
Ne Wf, RY AN \ = a hh My he ek
i, WO 4 =
Ni

1,

TE

ae
\y

ANE
Shy}

x
\\
SS
AN; RS
= ‘ wis

‘ AY UM RRR
aN

ot
=

—

feiseeete, <
iii :
Wii = WS 2
ass \)
ed,

Wy
jf $f
My Tits aE EY My ae
EM pi & SSE MENS
aK 7 Cy) os
LA Ree Sika) ; a

4
M4 i
Sy
Hits 3
Hyd),

fi
ra

35,

ae

deserts
BH

Mie
ay A

Sy
Sy

ESTES LSE ye

E

LSPS aN ts 5 Baa eat Sea
wr Si u Ryn dynt AS tS
ESN : 3 9088 00031 8972
ca Hata sitatea ara ROR iy
ey

Uh

1

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION LIBRARIES
age bigtts Rae Sih Ae ue ary
oe a ae ae ss

i
Beta . | Ha
. o .
et a Bo me

tf ar . shee }
SIS

si Pat i
Avent ve
. a

rt
5
tr

se —
a . en ny
i a
PURE
co Ra

oe ‘ . oe
AN;

Peay secst tart
ests eae Aer t
ROS auc
ue » nk iB me

Sees panes? .
eeeeercomact

aS

ae as

oe rat Reb Se

Ga
ce

_ 7

3 tn . pate

A TaN
Sersea Ne oe

ae

aay,

ee
_ Res 8 oe Ha . ue ;
Be . a
Rae SY
3

%
. es he ce
‘ oS

3
_ ae

set ane
Be hie Baus be ae a mi ;
Staeret) is aif 4 _

a TESS Pde te
oo .

* 4
ee ne
ae: ag

S

co es

cue Bs saraesante ry ete Ae
. iC _ . ‘

Hf a
ae .
Ae

es
5 +
fs sy a
a

* es

ae aie Sis

a ae
O% t ee 13
eh tee: et as
3 . eh ee

aa
e _ Rsbaeeagray
Bi ean

a os
Hats

. ae 9)
rahe Oe

Saree ea sas
f re cone y

las
ai; Hae

eee
PHA
ee i

ot)
<

atee*s

vx
pote

iY
aA
: