THE rHII.Ur ISIA>I) I'ARROT. 355 



living example of this species in his possession evinced a strong partialit)' to the leaves of 

 the connnon lettuce and other soft vegetables, and tluit it was also very fond of the juice 

 of fruits, of cream, and of butter. 



" Mr. Anderson told me that it lays four eggs in the hollow part of a tree, but beyond 

 this, T was unable to ascertain anything respecting its nidification. Its voice is a hoarse, 

 quacking, inharmonious noise, sometimes resembling the baiking of a dog. It woidd 

 appear, from the numerous specimens I have examined, that the sexes scarcely differ from 

 each other in coloiu- ; the young, on the i-ontrary, ha\ e but little of the rich j-ellow and 

 i-ed markings of the breast, that part being olive-brown like the back. 



" The general colour of the upper surface brown ; liead and back of the neck tinged 

 with gray, the feathers of these parts, as well as of the back, margined with a deeper tint ; 

 rump, belly, and under tail-coverts deep red ; cheeks, 'throat, and chest yellow, the former 

 tinged with red ; shoulders on their uudef surface yellow tinged with rufous olive ; tail- 

 feathers banded at the base with orange-yellow and brown ; the inner webs of the quill- 

 feathcrs at the base and beneath, with dusky red and brown ; irides very dark brown ; 

 bill brown; nostrils, bare skin round the eye, and feet dark olive-brown." 



In Yates's " New Zealand," we are informed that the Ncsfoi' /ii/pojM/i/i-s', known there 

 by the name of kaka, is much larger than any other parrot in that island ; but possessing 

 all their mischievous qualities, and capable of learning to imitate the. human voice to an 

 astounding degree. Its feathers are of a dark russet colour ; round the neck, upon the 

 thighs, and under the tail, beautifully tinged and spotted with deep red. It has a large 

 round dark eye, and the feathers ^circling it are shaded with a mbiture of yellow 

 and red. 



This bird feeds on all kinds of fruits, berries, and farinaceous roots. It bites holes in 

 trees, in which it makes its nest ; laying four, and sometimes five eggs, perfectly white. 

 Generally three of these birds are found together in the same hole, one male and two 

 females ; and during the season of incubation, the nests, though separated, are so close 

 together, that either of the mother-birds can sit upon the eggs, feed their neighbour's 

 young, and cover them with one of her wings, without leaving her own nest, or neglect- 

 ing her own offspring. ' The cry of these birds, when ranging at large in the woods, is 

 harsh and disagreeable in the extreme. 



2 A 2 



