Makkinek. — On the Natural Ristonj of the Kea. 29o 



The nest is just a small hollow hiied with a few bits of grass, 

 and sometimes even these are absent. Most of the nests are 

 connected with the exterior by a long " rnn," which is made 

 up of the natural crevices and fissures in the rocks, but Mr. 

 R. Urquhart this year found in a cave a nest which was quite 

 easy to get at owmg to the absence of this long passage. Mr. 

 F. F. C. Huddleston gives an account of a nest that he once 

 found, and, from the number of keas found in it, seemed to 

 indicate that it was a sort of breeding colony, for he says that 

 twenty keas came out of it. However, none of my other corre- 

 .sponde]its mention anything of this kind, so that it must at 

 least be a very rare occurrence. 



One of my correspondents states that he has found nestlings 

 in June, but this, like the finding of kea-eggs in May, seems 

 to be rather the exception than the rule. From the accounts 

 that I have received, it is evident that the eggs may be laid 

 as early as the end of June or the beginning of July, and young 

 birds may be expected towards the end of the latter month. 



Mr. R. Urquhart foimd four young birds in a nest on the 

 21st of August, and as they were about three weeks old when 

 they were found, the eggs must have been laid towards the 

 beginning of July. 



The young keas, from all accounts, seem to remain a long 

 time in the nest. Mr. J. Mcintosh found some young ones 

 in September and took them out of the nest in December, so 

 they must be nearly full-grown before 'they leave their parents. 



Through the kindness of Mr. R. Urquhart, I received two 

 live kea nestlings, and so was able to see for myself how help- 

 less they are even at an advanced stage of development. The 

 birds were about two months old when I received them, and 

 though they were about the size of an ordinary pigeon, they* 

 were quite unable to move about or swallow their food. Their 

 wings were fairly strong, and were flapped sometimes, though 

 rarely, when food was brought to them, but though their legs 

 were large they seeined quite devoid of muscular action, and 

 were never used. Indeed, so helpless were they that when 

 being photographed they would jiot move from the position in 

 which they were first placed 



As there are very few descriptions of young keas on record, 

 I have inserted the following from my diary : — 



" 22nd September, 1906. — Received two young live keas 

 from Mr. R. Urquhart. Since their capture, a month previous, 

 they have been fed with thin strips of sheep's kidney, which 

 has to be poked down their throats with a small stick. Their 

 <-rv somewhat resembles that of their parents, but is weaker 



