5 10 Mr. W. 11. Ogilvie-Graut on Birds 



Mr. Richard Henry, who is in charge of the " Bird 

 Reserve" on Resolution Island, has supplied Lord Ranfurly 

 with the following notes, in continuation of those already 

 published in the ' Transactions of the New Zealand Institute/ 

 vol. xxx. p. 288 (1897) :— 



" Though the greater part of the Roas' food consists of 

 earthworms, they no doubt eat all sorts of insects, including 

 many things they get out of water- holes, for I often see their 

 tracks in muddy places, and captives are fond of dabbling 

 in their water-tins. Last August two Roas were killed by 

 my dog, which had managed to get rid of its muzzle. The 

 stomachs of these birds were full of Miro-berries, the hard 

 stones of which were completely digested, and had probably 

 been eaten for the sake of the little kernels; the birds 

 were quite fat. On Mt. Bradshaw, in Dec. 1898, I found 

 two Roas in the open grass country far away from the forest, 

 but this is the only instance of the kind that has come under 

 my notice. One of these birds, which 1 had to wake up, 

 looked at me more in surprise than fear, and when I put it 

 down settled itself once more in its 'form* under a big 

 tussock and went to sleep again; it evidently knew nothing 

 of enemies of any sort. 



" I put a pair of Roas on Parrot Island, and on the 15th 

 November found the male hatching a fresh egg in the same 

 nest which contained a tiny little chicken ■ so it is evident 

 this bird sometimes breeds twice in the season. 



"We did not see the mother at all. She was probably 

 recovering after producing her great egg, which was 5 inches 

 long and 3^ inches in diameter, and weighed 18 ounces. 

 The male probably weighed about 5 lbs. and the female 

 about 7 lbs., for I have often weighed specimens out of 

 curiosity. 



" 1 think that the little chickens find their own food 

 almost as soon as they can walk, and require only a little 

 warmth from the parents. 



" When 1 kept little ones they always foraged for them- 

 selves, and refused the large worms which the old ones 

 liked. 



