^°'i^3^"l lIAEUvSLER, .Wotcs o„ the Kha'l 175 



Notes on the Habits of the North Island 

 Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) 



\\\ II. \<. llAia'SLEK. k.A.O.r.. Opouriao, l'>ay of Plenty, 

 New Zealand. 



My more inliniate knowledge of the strange ways of the Kiwi 

 began at Kinpaka (North Auckland), when a neighbor's dog 

 caught a young bird in the bush adjoining the settlement. It 

 was unfortunately very badly hurt as a result of the dog's rough 

 treatment, but as there seemed to be a possibility of saving its 

 life, 1 decided to take it home and attend to its injuries. 



Already at this, our first meeting, the little fellow showed an 

 unusually savage disposition, for, although weak and evidently in 

 great pain, it fought like a little demon, with legs and bill. I 

 managed, however, to pick it up and carry it home, but all my 

 attempts to administer first aid failed. My young patient proved 

 to be so unmanageable, and so vigorously resisted all attempts 

 to treat its injured parts, that I had to give up the idea of doing 

 any amateur doctoring for the time. Hoping that it would be- 

 come more tractable with better acquaintance and complete rest, 

 and that freedom from worry would help it on the road to re- 

 covery, I placed the little Kiwi in a yard fenced in with .wire 

 netting, and with a good-sized box for a house. Here it made 

 itself quite at home, but it, nevertheless, rejected all my offers 

 of friendship, and showed its vicious temper at every opportunity. 



In these decidedly unpleasant circumstances an event happened 

 which promised to bring about a much more satisfactory state of 

 things. Another Kiwd appeared on the scene. It was a veiy old 

 and remarkably quiet bird a dog had caught in the locality, 

 which had been the home of the young bird. There was every 

 reason, therefore, to expect thai the newcomer would receive a 

 most cordial welcome, but to my great surprise and disappoint- 

 ment this was not the case. • 



No sooner did it notice the new arrival in the yard than the 

 young bird made a furious rush at it and began to strike and 

 pick at it in a most extraordinarily vicious manner, accompanying 

 its blows with deep growls like those of an angry dog. The old 

 bird, curiously enough, did not .show the least sign of surprise or 

 resentment. It took, in fact, absolutely no notice of its madly 

 excited aggressor, although some of its kicks must have been 

 sufficiently hard to cause considerable pain, as I could judge from 

 personal experience in a tussle with my young captive. Instead 

 of doing so, and of teaching the youngster better manners, it 

 calmly began to explore its new^ quarters, walking round and 

 round, and carefully examining the wire netting with its bill. 



The tw^o birds never became friends, the younger ])ersisting 

 in its hostile attitude, the other completely ignoring the other 

 occupant of the yard. Only once did T notice the old bird knock 

 the smaller one head over heels with a mighty kick. 



