on the oiol parrot.



185



mechanical. When raised, both wings were lifted together, not held

up alternately. The owl parrot can climb, the tail helping to support

the body.


In life this parrot is very beautiful, being of a bright sap

green colour, shining with a waxy gloss as if enamelled, and forcibly

recalling the dictum of Dr. Bowdler Sharpe, that the feathers of a

bird are living entities, and by no means inert matter. The head is

rounded : there is no marked constriction between neck and trunk,

the stout neck passing gradually into the robust, rotund body. These

birds are half-blinded in strong daylight, perhaps the sunshine is

painful to them, as they do not voluntarily remain exposed to it.

Museum workers have compared them to owls, on account of their

facial discs and soft plumage : but they are far less tolerant of light

than owls. An owl may often be seen perched well out in the sun¬

light, apparently even enjoying the light of day: the owl parrot

usually endeavours to hide in some dark corner, squatting on the

entire length of the tarsus. Those who have seen a mouse-bird

( Colius ) crouched on the ground on its tarsi will understand the

writer’s meaning. Again, the eye of an owl parrot is quite small, a

mere dot in the facial disc, very different from the expanded, cat¬

like orb of an owl. These parrots often assume an upright attitude,

the body being supported by the strong, elastic tail, and the little,

short-sighted eyes blinking with absurd dignity, as the bird holds

itself stiffly erect. This species has apparently never been taught

to talk : the usual note is a pig-like grunt.


In view of the threatened extinction of the owl parrot any

discussion of its treatment in captivity may seem superfluous. The

Government of New Zealand has, however, set aside considerable

reserves for the persecuted island fauna: Little Barrier Island in

the north and Resolution Island in the south are now sacred to the

avifauna, and are wardened by regular custodians. Many of the

mountains again are set aside as national parks, and some of them

in addition are definitely named as bird sanctuaries. Many species

are permanently protected, and there is a local Association of Accli¬

matisation Societies, which meets annually.


It is thus possible—though unlikely—that the owl parrot may

some day be better known to aviculture. It is reputed a difficult



