Marriner. — Additional Notes on the Kea. 537 



stone was forced away from the opening with, the aid of a crow- 

 bar, thns enabling a man to crawl in and reach the nest. The 

 female bird was killed, but the male escaped, and the four young 

 birds were carried back to the station. Mr. Urquhart brought 

 two of the young birds to Christchurch for me, thus enabling 

 me to photograph them. 



The nest of a kea is almost a misnomer, for the bird chooses 

 some natural hole in the rocks which has a narrow opening 

 just wide enough to allow the adult birds to pass in and out, 

 and then, placing a few pieces of tussock-grass at the far end, 

 she lays her eggs. 



The first nest that I saw was situated at the end of a long 

 narrow tunnel running some 6 ft. into solid rock. The opening, 

 after the removal of a large stone, was in the shape of a triangle ; 

 the distance from the apex to the base was 14 in., and the length 

 of the base 19 in. The tunnel, or "run," narrowed as it sp- 

 proached the end, and here, in the narrowest part, was the 

 nest placed, which, when it was robbed some months before, 

 contained four keas. 



On the opposite side of the ravine the remains of another 

 nest were found, which could not have been reached without 

 blasting the rock. The opening was 30 in. deep and some 13 in. 

 wide, and the tunnel ran back some 10 ft. into solid rock, and a • 

 more secure place for a nest could hardly be imagined. 



With such inaccessible nesting-places there seems very 

 little chance at present of these interesting but cruel birds being 

 exterminated. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATES XXXII-XXXIV. 



Plate XXXII. 



Fig. 1. A sheep killed by keas on Top Flat, Mount Algidus Station. 

 Fig. 2. Close view of the wound seen in fig. 1, Plate XXXII. 



Plate XXXIII. 



Fig. 1. A sheep killed by keas on Lake Coleridge Station. 

 Fig. 2. Close view of wound in fig. 1, Plate XXXTII. 



Plate XXXIV. 



Fig. 1. Opening into the " run " leading to the nest where four young 

 keas were captufed. A large stone has been removed from the 

 entrance. 



Fig. 2. Opening into the " run " of another nest. 



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