290 Transactions. 



ness that has got it into the habit of slieep-killing. Taking 

 into account the bird's love of investigating anything that is 

 at all strange, it is suggested that when the sheep first appeared 

 in the birds' domains they became at once the centre of at- 

 traction. The keas would, no doubt, walk round the sheep 

 and inspect it, and finally hop on to the animal's back. When 

 the sheep commenced to run the bird would most likely fall 

 ofE, but by repeated attempts it would at last find the way 

 to hold on. Once on the sheep's back, the kea most naturally 

 would begin to pull out the wool and finally find his way down 

 to the flesh. In this way he would soon find out how to get 

 food from a living sheep. 



Again, if a number of sheep were half buried in the snow, 

 their position would be quite strange enough to attract the 

 kaas, and with their natural ^ove of tearing they would soon 

 find their way to the animal's flesh. 



It seems to me that this theory has much in its favour, 

 and may account to soma extent for the bird's change of diet. 



3. The Hunger Theory. — The supporters of this theory 

 suggest that ib was the lack of ordinary food that caused the 

 kea to attack sheep. They say that when the ground was 

 covered with snow and frozen hard the birds would have a diffi- 

 culty in finding sufficient food. Being pressed by hunger, they 

 would visit the meat-gallows at the homesteads and feed on the 

 meat, skins, offal, &.c., and in this way they would soon acquire 

 a liking for meat. Having once acquired the taste, they would 

 next take to eating dead sheep or sheep caught in the snow, 

 and finally take to tackling the live animals. 



4. The Maggot Theory. — This is a slight modification of the 

 hunger theory, and was first suggested by Dr. Menzies (Q) in 

 1878. He says, " They suppose that these birds formerly 

 fed chiefly on berries and the large white grubs abounding in 

 mossy vegetation on the hills, and that after the country was 

 stocked they — first by feeding on maggots and insects on dead 

 sheep, and afterwards on dead animals — acquired not only the 

 taste for meat, but also a discrimination of the choice parts. 

 By-and-by they attacked living sheep, and their upper mandible 

 enabled them quickly to tear open the skin." 



Reischek (T, a), in 1885, supports this theory, and says, 

 " My opinion is that these birds became carnivorous through 

 being numerous when sheep were introduced, and feeding on 

 miggots which soon appear on carcases of sheep dying on the 

 runs, and have thus probably acquired such a Uking for the 

 fatty matter that it has emboldened them to attack live sheep." 



This theory seems to have much in favour of it, especially 

 when we remember that the kea is naturally insectivorous. 



