62 Bird Sanctiiaries of Neiv Zealand. [ist'oct 



covered with a snow-white down. The holes so frequently 

 found in their gardens, where they have scratched, suggest 

 that they dig for truffles, and it is known that they eat mush- 

 rooms. 



The Roa, another of the wingless birds, is distinguished by its 

 wonderful beak — long, slender, and slightly curved. This, too, 

 is a night bird, and rarely found far away from forests. It uses 

 its long, Snipe-like bill just for the same purpose that the Snipe 

 does its bill, except that it works in harder ground, and its chief 

 food is earthworms. Its sight is poor, but Nature, as is usually 

 the case, compensates for this defect by sharpening up its sense 

 of smell and hearing. When seen in the moonlight, it moves 

 slowly along with its bill outstretched, and often stands with 

 the point of its bill resting upon the earth, as though either trying 

 to scent the worms or feel for their movements underground. 

 The peculiar thing about their breeding habits is that a young 

 bird a week or so old and a fresh egg are frequently found in 

 the same nest. Like the Wekas, the parent Roas share the cares 

 of a family, though in another way — the male does all the 

 hatching. The young are born with all their feathers like 

 mature birds, and apparently all their intelligence as well, for 

 as soon as they are hatched they start to search for their own 

 food, and require no hints as to the best place to find it. The 

 single egg, like that of the Mutton-Bird, is exceptionally large. 

 Thus, in the nesting season the hen, always in fine condition, 

 weighs about 8 lbs., the " hatcher " 5 lbs., and the egg 

 18 ozs. 



The Grey Kiwi is described as a shy, gentle little thing, that 

 seems to depend wholly for its existence on its ability to hide 

 away in lonely places. They are shaped much like the Roa, 

 but have straight beaks. It is a light-loving bird, that feeds 

 by day, mostly upon white grubs. It resembles the Roa in its 

 breeding habits, laying one large &gg, hatched by the male bird, 

 but while in the nesting season the pair of Roas are rarely 

 separated, the Kiwis are just as rarely found together. The 

 young are very beautiful little birds, quite silent, but so alert 

 and cautious that if you take your eyes off them for a while they 

 disappear. When grown, they have a shrill whistling note, 

 which Mr. Henry describes as like the guard's whistle in a 

 railway train heard a little way off. In summer both the Roa 

 and the Kiwi like to go up to the high ground, affecting naked 

 mountain crests, and their pathways are clearly marked. The 

 Kiwi builds in a short burrow underground, generally protected 

 at the mouth by the root of a tree. In the case of both the Roa 

 and Kiwi, it looks as though the male bird hatched continuously 

 for about 30 days. They go on the nest fat and plump, and 

 by the time the young bird is hatched are feeble skeletons. 



