292 Transactions. 



The time of day when thev attack sheep is also uncertain, 

 and, speaking generally, the} have been known to attack at all 

 hours; but the evening, night, and early morning appear t> be 

 their favo'irite times. 



Why night-time should be their favourite time may be 

 accounted for in several ways. Firstly, the sheep are said to 

 make for the same sleeping-grounds or camp for several con- 

 secutive iiights, and the birds would be sure of finding plenty 

 o^ sheep together during the hours of darkness. Secondly, 

 being partly nocturnal in their habits, they have an advantage 

 over the sheep, and at night there is less chance of their being 

 seen or disturbed. 



If attacking in daylight they seem to choose dull or foggy 

 days, but this is not always the case, as I have heard of several 

 instances of attacks being made in bright sunshine. How- 

 ever, in these cases there has always been snow on the ground, 

 and the helplessness of the sheep, or the lack of food, may have 

 made them more daring. 



Number of Sheep killed. 



It is impossible to work out anything like a correct esti- 

 mate of the damage done to the flocks of sheep by the keas. 

 owing to the uncertainty of the results sent in. For instance, 

 where every sheep that is missing is put down as the work of 

 these biids the damage is exaggerated, and in cases where 

 sheep are killed by the keas and their remains are never seen 

 there will be an underestimation of the loss. Again, if we take 

 the number of birds killed in a certain time we go wrong, be- 

 cause the birds seem to kill at irregular intervals, and when 

 percentages are given we have to find out whether it is made 

 out on oue flock, one station, or one district. Often when a 

 percentage is given on a week's or a month's damage, unless it 

 is very clearly stated, it is sometimes taken for the annual loss. 

 and in this way very erroneous results have been published. 

 Some people quote the damage to the stations at 30 and 40 per 

 cent., but I think that this is very wide of the mark. A rough 

 idea of the number killed, even in a short time, can be seen by 

 the following accounts : — 



Mr. J. Morgan writes a'' follows : " In spring, 1894, Meso- 

 potamia Station, Kangitata Gorge, we found a lot of strong 

 wethers dead, and on skinning some we found a small puncture 

 through the skin above the loins, and the flesh torn about 

 under the skin. On going over a block about a mile long and 

 a quarter wide we found close on three hundred dead sheep. 

 Ttie next night a naan went out and shot a lew birds — in all. 

 during two days, he shot sixty-three keas — and we lost wo more 



