270 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS 



which the bird draws the worm from its hiding- 

 place, coaxing it out as it were by degrees, instead 

 of pulling roughly or breaking it. On getting the 

 worm fairly out of the ground, it throws up its 

 head with a jerk, and swallows it whole." 



The food of the Kiwis — it is not known to differ 

 in all the four species — is worms, beetles, and the 

 kernels of berries : pebbles are often found in the 

 stomach of these birds. These birds make little or 

 no nest, laying one or two eggs in a hollow in the 

 ground. These are incubated by the male. The 

 North Island species has been known to lay eggs in 

 captivity, but never successfully to breed. During 

 the breeding season Kiwis are said to be silent. 

 Formerly, when the Kiwis were much commoner 

 than they are now, they roamed about in parties of 

 from six to a dozen, and their shrill cries were a 

 striking feature of the mountainous areas they 

 frequented, sounding near and far in the stillness of 

 the night. 



