Marrinbk. — On the Natural History of the Kea. 289 



sheep first wandered into the keas' domains the birds mistook 

 them for the woolly-like plants, and, with the idea of digging 

 out the grubs, they began to tear open the skin of the sheep. 

 In this way the keas are supposed to have acquired the method 

 of killing the sheep and eating the flesh. 



This all sounds very feasible, but on further investigation 

 it is found that the true facts do not support the theory. 



Firstly, where the keas were first known to attack sheep — 

 i^amely, aroimd Lake Wanaka — the " vegetable sheep " do not, 

 according to Dr. Cockayne, grow to such a size that they might 

 be mistaken for sheep ; in fact, Raoidia eximia does not occur 

 there at all, and many mosses, &c., are often as conspicuous 

 as the Otago species of Baoulia. The true " vegetable sheep " 

 (Hanstia pulvinaris) does not even come as far south as Can- 

 terbury, and Baoulia eximia does not go farther south than 

 Mount Ida in Central Otago, its only known Otago habitat. 

 Therefore it appears that where the kea first acquired the habit 

 of killing sheep the " vegetable sheep " is practically unknown. 



Secondly, I have never found any grubs in the " vege- 

 table sheep," though I have pulled many up, and I have read 

 and heard of no one who has seen grubs in these plants of such 

 a size or numerous enough to attract the kea. The only sup- 

 posed reference that I can find is in an article by the Hon. 

 Dr. Menzies, M.L.C. (Q), in 1878. He says, " They suppose that 

 these birds [keas] formerly fed chiefly on berries and the large 

 white grubs aboimding in the mossy vegetation on the hilis." 

 Whether Dr. Menzies, or the shepherds from whom he received 

 his information, mistook the " vegetable sheep " for a lichen 

 or moss, as many people do, I cannot say. 



Thirdly, when keas first attacked sheep, and up to the pre- 

 sent day, they seemed to confine their attacks to the shoulder 

 or rump, the latter in preference. Now, if the keas were in the 

 first instances looking for grubs, then they would almost be sure 

 to work right along the whole length of the back ; but in the 

 accoiuits that I have seen this is certainly not the case. 



Fourthly, if the keas feed on these grubs that are supposed 

 to live in the " vegetable sheep," one would expect to hear 

 of the plant being found in a partly torn-up condition. How- 

 ever, I can find no instance of the plants being seen in this con- 

 dition, and, though I have been upon the ranges where ke^.s 

 and " vegetable sheep " are both numerous, I have always 

 found the plants intact. 



It seems to me that unless further evidence is forthcoming 

 to support this theory it must be left out of consideration. 



2. The Curiosift/ Theory.— 8ome writers think that it is 

 nothing but the kea's insatiable curiosity and destructive- 



10— Tran?. 



