578 Mr. W. ft. Ogilvie-Grant on Birds 



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tail is so nimble that it is the last bird in the bush I would 

 have expected a Hawk to catch. 



" Another surprise was the fact that they are able to over- 

 take Parroquets out in the open ; they eagerly hunt these 

 birds when away from the trees, and generally catch them, 

 notwithstanding their marvellous speed and activity. Kaka 

 Parrots [are poor fliers, but demons to fight, and the Hawks 

 never seem to trouble the old birds, but they sometimes 

 prey on the younger birds. 



"In February I saw a pair of young Hawks just learning 

 to fly. They followed my boat among the rocky islets, and 

 every time they lit on a rock lost their balance from want of 

 practice. They were dark brown on the breast and almost 

 slate-coloured on the back. Their gapes were yellow, and 

 their legs of a greenish-yellow colour. I did not observe 

 their parents. 



" At Te Anau a pair fed their young ones for some time 

 near my camp, where they were very welcome, because they 

 preyed mostly on young Sparrows, and afforded me an 

 opportunity of studying some of their habits. The male was 

 only about half the size of the female, and he seemed to 

 devote his whole attention to the Sparrows, who occupied 

 many nests in a few solitary trees on the south-east end 

 of the lake, where there is no forest ; but the female seems 

 more inclined to hunt Swamp-hens or Wekas. The parents 

 were like ( Quail- Hawks ' and the young ones like ' Bush- 

 Hawks/ so that there may be only one species, which varies 

 a little according to age and the locality the birds live in. I 

 saw the pair hunting in company, and while one was swooping 

 down on the bird the other was mounting; as they swooped 

 alternately, a Parroquet had no chance of escape, and a 

 Starling but little. A Sparrow is too cunning to afford a 

 hunt, for he will not fly in the open, but dives into any sort 

 of cover, even in among ferns ; but the Hawk used to fly 

 through the trees where the nests were, and seldom failed 

 to carry off something in his claws. 



" When the parents wished to give a little bird to the young 

 ones, they would give vent to a few notes of their laughing 



