536 Transactions. 



able to photograph it, and take notes. The animal was a four- 

 tnothed merino ewe, and apparently in good condition. Over 

 the left loin was a round wound 4 in. by 3 in. in size, and, like 

 those seen at the Mount Algidus Station, the flesh was black- 

 looking and much lacerated. The birds had just made a small 

 hole into the body-cavity, but on opening the sheep we found 

 the kidneys and kidney-fat intact. On skinning the back we 

 found the flesh for some distance blackish in appearance, as 

 though blood-poisoning had been the cause of death. Though 

 the wounds in the sheep seen in this excursion were horrible 

 enough, often the whole side of the sheep is eaten out, and 

 various internal organs pulled out. 



However, from what I saw, it appears that the death of 

 kea-picked sheep is not always due to the injuries to the in- 

 ternal organs, but that foreign matter getting into a small flesh- 

 wound made by a kea causes blood-poisoning and death. It 

 may be that the kea's beak itself is not quite clean, or perhaps 

 that the cruel laceration of the flesh due to the kea's attacks 

 is sufficient to poison the blood. 



Keas' Nests. 



The position of the kea's nest depends a good deal on the 

 surrounding country. If the mountains have numerous long 

 narrow tunnels running for some yards into solid rock the kea 

 will make use of them ; but otherwise a rabbit-burrow or a 

 cairn of stones will suffice. When the birds build, as they 

 usually do, in the face of almost inaccessible cliffs, their nests 

 are invulnerable, for even if a mountaineer can manage, at the 

 risk of his life, to reach the exit of the "run" he will have 

 to use a crowbar to force an opening, and in many cases nothing 

 but a charge of blasting-powder would make a hole large enough 

 to effect an entrance. The nest that we visited was situated 

 in a narrow tunnel at the top of a 900 ft. cliff, caused by the 

 Chimera Creek cutting a deep narrow gorge through Jack's Hill. 

 We had to leave our horses in the gorge, and climb along the 

 top of the cliff for some distance, which, owing to the slippery 

 nature of the ground, made our progress very slow. The nest 

 was fairly easy of access, owing to it being situated near the 

 bottom of a small ravine, about 10 ft. deep, which poured its 

 waters over the top of the cliff. 



In the spring of 1906 Mr. Urquhart, having discovered the 

 nest, determined to plunder it, and so one night he, with several 

 of his men, climbed along the top of the cliff, but owing to 

 the darkness they were unable exactly to locate the nest. The 

 difficulty was overcome, however, by one of the men imitating 

 the call of a kea, to which the young birds responded. A large 



