346 Transactions. — -Zoology. 



like in its flight than the common Nestor. It often sweeps 

 suddenly to the ground ; and its cry differs from that of the 

 common Kaka in being more shrill and wild." Reviewing 

 these opinions, I said {op. cit., p. 153), " No doubt some 

 naturalists will be disposed to regard this larger race as a 

 distinct bird, and for a considerable time my own inchnations 

 were in that direction ; but, looking to the extreme tendency 

 to variation in this species, and to the difficulty of drawing a 

 clear line between the larger and smaller races in consequence 

 of the occasional intermediate or connecting forms, I feel that 

 I am taking a safe course, concurrently with Dr. Finsch, in 

 refusing, for the present at least, to separate these birds." 

 That is how the matter rests now ; but I am always open to 

 conviction, and would welcome any further information on the 

 subject. I have already a piece of evidence which, so far as 

 it goes, seems rather to strengthen the view of the species 

 being distinct. It is this : The nestling of the North Island 

 Kaka as described by myself (op. cit., p. 151) is " covered with 

 soft white down, thinly distributed, and very short on the 

 nnder-parts ; abdomen entirely bare ; bill whitish-grey, the 

 upper mandible armed near the tip with a white horny point ; 

 cere pale-yellow ; legs dull-cinereous." A nestling brought 

 from the West Coast Sounds, and submitted to me as a skin, 

 was covered all over with short slaty-grey down ; bill greyish- 

 horn colour; feet brown. These nestlings, therefore, vi^ere 

 very different, and they belonged to the two varieties. 



Professor Newton writes,* " Considering the abundance 

 of Parrots, both as species and individuals, and their wide 

 extent over the globe, it is surprising how little is known of 

 their habits in a wild state. Even the species with which 

 Englishmen and their descendants have been more in contact 

 than any other has an almost unwritten history compared 

 with that of many other birds ; and, seemg how many are 

 oppressed by and yielding to man's occupation of their ancient 

 haunts, the extirpation of some is certain, and will probably 

 be accomplished before several interesting and some disputed 

 points in their economy have been decided. The experience 

 of small islands only foreshadows what will happen in tracts 

 of greater extent, though there more time is required to pro- 

 duce the same result ; but, the result being inevitable, those 

 who are favourably placed for observations should neglect no 

 opportunities of making them ere it be too late." And, re- 

 ferring to our bird, he says, " The position of the genus 

 Nestor in the order Psittaci must be regarded as uncertain. 

 Garrod removed it altogether from the neighbourhood of the 

 Lories, to which, indeed, the structure of its tongue, as pre- 



* "Dictionary of Birds," p. 691. 



