132 Transactions. — Zoology. 



out-bouses, picking off the spiders and insects secreted there ; 

 when hags or sheepskins are found lying on the ground, they 

 drag away or turn them over, to procure the worms, beetles, or 

 woodlice hidden beneath. Occasionally, during their nocturnal 

 rambles, they discover the carcase of a sheep ; they commence 

 pulling off the wool until they effect an opening in the flesh ; 

 here they fare sumptuously for weeks, often secreting themselves 

 in the nearest cover, and returning night after night to feed on 

 the carcase, or the maggots, which in their turn devour it. 

 They are also expert destroyers of rats and mice, and assist 

 materially in destroying the numbers of young rabbits in 

 infected districts. 



The omnivorous habits of the Weka favour it more than any 

 other native species to withstand the change produced by 

 cultivation. It would survive when all other known species of 

 Rail would soon become extinct. It is equally at home among 

 cultivated gardens and fields, as well as in its native tussock, 

 swamp, or bush. 



The call is an excellent barometer ; but the call which 

 indicates rain is readily distinguishable from its ordinary 

 answering call — it is more incessant, and repeated at shorter 

 intervals. The ordinary call, or cry, is invariably led off by the 

 female, and is answered in all directions by both sexes. This, 

 however, is only peculiar to paired birds before or after meeting, 

 as the male or female is often heard, solitary, answering others 

 in the distance, while its mate is on the nest. The preparation 

 of the ground, gathering of the tussock grass, and building of 

 the nest is performed by both birds alike. They are fastidious 

 in their choice of a site, going over the same spot many times 

 before it is selected. The nest is placed under a tussock (Poa) or 

 niggerhead (Carex virgata) ; it is found in clumps of Discaria 

 toumatou and Pteris aquilina, and I have seen it twice placed 

 under a bare rock, but the gorse hedge is preferred, as affording 

 better protection from the attacks of dogs. One I observed last 

 year, made by a half- tame pair, was completed in two days. 

 The grass is placed in a loose heap on the spot selected ; the 

 nest is shaped by the bird squatting on the material, and turning 

 round until a hollow is made ; it then draws the grass around 

 its body with the under surface of the lower mandible until 

 it is completed. After the completion of the nest alluded to, 

 one day elapsed before laying ; one egg was then laid each suc- 

 cessive morning ; when it contained four, they began to hatch, 

 the female generally remaining a little longer on the eggs than 

 the male. At this season they have a muttering or suppressed 

 call ; if the sound is carefully imitated, it is an easy matter to 

 find a weka's nest, provided it is approached cautiously, or 

 unperceived by the birds. When a nest is found, the finder may 

 rest assured there is not another near for a considerable 



