540 BIRDS OP AUSTRALIA. 



on some parts of the high mountains in the interior of the 

 north island of New Zealand, the only place where we met 

 with it, during our circumnavigation and exploration of the 

 coasts of the islands in H.M.S. 'Acheron,' was at the S.W. end 

 of the middle island. There, in the deep sounds which in- 

 tersect that part of the island, it is still found in considerable 

 numbers, inhabiting the dry spurs of hills or flats near the 

 banks of rivers, where the trees are high, and the forest com- 

 paratively free from fern or underwood. 



" The first place where it was obtained was on a hill nearly 

 4000 feet above the level of the sea. It was also found living 

 in communities on flats near the mouths of rivers close to the 

 sea. In these places its tracts resembled footpaths made by 

 man, and led us at first to imagine that there must be natives 

 in the neighbourhood. These tracks were about a foot wide, 

 regularly pressed down to the edges, which are two or three 

 inches deep amongst the moss, and cross each other usually at 

 right angles. 



" The Kakapo lives in holes under the roots of trees, and is 

 also occasionally found under shelving rocks. The roots of 

 many New Zealand trees growing partly above ground, holes 

 are common under them ; but where the Kakapo is found 

 many of the holes appeared to have been enlarged, although no 

 earth was ever found thrown out near them. There were 

 frequently two openings to these holes, and occasionally, though 

 rarely, the trees over them were hollow for some distance up. 



" The only occasion on which the Kakapo was seen to fly 

 was when it got up one of these hollow trees and was driven 

 to an exit higher up. The flight was very short, the wings 

 being scarcely moved ; and the bird alighted on a tree at a 

 lower level than the place from whence it had come, but soon 

 got higher up by climbing, using its tail to assist it. 



" Except when driven from its holes, the Kakapo is never 

 seen during the day, and it was only by the assistance of 

 dogs that we were enabled to find it. / 



