APPENDIX. 541 



" Before dogs became common, and when the bird was 

 plentiful in inhabited parts of the islands, the natives were in 

 the habit of catching it at night, using torches to confuse it. 

 It offers a formidable resistance to a dog, and sometimes 

 inflicts severe wounds with its powerful claws and beak. At 

 a very recent period it was common all over the west coast of 

 the middle island, but there is now a race of wild dogs said 

 to have overrun all the northern part of this shore, and to have 

 almost extirpated the Kahapos wherever they have reached. 

 Their range is said to be at present confined by a river or 

 some such physical obstruction, and it is to be feared that if 

 they once succeeded in gaining the stronghold of the Kakapo 

 (the S.W. end of the island) the bird may soon become extinct. 



" During the latter half of February and the first half of 

 March, whilst we Avere amongst the haunts of these birds, we 

 found young ones in many of the holes, frequently only one, 

 never more than two, in the same hole. In one case where 

 there were two young ones I found also an addled egg. There 

 was usually, but not always, an old bird in the same hole 

 with the young ones. 



" They build no nest, but simply scrape a slight hollow 

 amongst the dry dust formed of decayed wood. The young 

 were of different ages, some being nearly fully fledged, and 

 others covered only with down. The egg is white and about 

 the size of a pigeon's, two inches and an eighth long by one 

 inch and nine-sixteenths broad. 



" The cry of the Kakapo is a hoarse croak, varied occasion- 

 ally by a discordant shriek when irritated or hungry. The 

 Maories say that during winter they assemble together in large 

 numbers in caves, and at the times of meeting, and, again be- 

 fore dispersing to their summer haunts, that the noise they 

 make is perfectly deafening. 



" A good many young ones were brought on board the 

 ship alive. Most of them died a few days afterwards, pro- 

 bably from want of sufficient care ; some died after being 



