398 Dr. O. Fiusch's Ornithological 



As it was winter time during my visit I did not see either 

 of tlie Cuckoos ; for both Chrysococcyx lucidns and Eudi/namis 

 taitiensis are migrants^ wliich only visit New Zealand in the 

 summer time. The latter of these species^ however, I had 

 previously met with in various islands of the South Seas as 

 far north as the Carolines. 



I have nearly forgotten my especial friends the Parrots, of 

 which I met with three species in New Zealand — Platycercus 

 auriceps, Nestor meridionalis, and N. notabilis. The first of 

 these is a shy bird, and frequents the woods ; the second 

 is also met with in the same localities. But I found Nestor 

 meridionalis likewise in the alpine region in company with N. 

 notabilis, which may be considered, in a certain sense, the only 

 alpine bird in New Zealand ; for it never comes down to the 

 plains, and its distribution seems confined to an altitude of 

 not less than 2000 feet, an elevation at which, in New Zealand, 

 the glaciers almost begin. When travelling in these regions 

 on the Miiller and Hooker glacier, along the foot of the 

 majestic Mount Cook, I first heard the peculiar cry of the 

 Kea {Nestor notabilis) . It sounds like the mewing of a cat 

 or the cry of a baby, and forms a most singular contrast to 

 the grand wild scenery of rocks, ice, and snow. Such localities 

 are the favoured dwelling-places of the Kea, where, in rocks 

 and precipices, it rears its young. In contrast to its generic 

 relation the Kaka {Nestor meridionalis). the Kea is by no 

 means a shy bird, and it is said that these birds may be killed 

 easily by a stone or by a snare thrown over their heads. There 

 is now a war going on against the Keas, which in time will end 

 with their total extermination. The reason is not only that 

 the flesh of the Kea is very palatable, but that it is its 

 strange custom to kill sheep. For eight years, or there- 

 abouts, the Keas have taken to attack the sheep, bite holes 

 in their sides, and eat the fat of the kidneys, which, of course, 

 causes death. Mr. Potts has written an interesting paper on 

 this subject, and of the fact there is not the slightest doubt. 

 But what surprised me still more than this newly developed 

 rapacious habit was the fact that in one valley Keas will 

 attack sheep, and in another very close to it will not do so. 



