156 THE ANIMALS OF NEW ZEALAND 



which have been found in many parts of the dominion, and were 

 sometimes mistaken for those of human beings. He writes as 

 follows : "It was very amusing- to watch these creatures, 

 generally one at a time, coming along the track feeding, and 

 giving a passing peck at any root or twig that might be in the 

 Avay. Thus the tracks are always kept clean. In fact, they very 

 much resemble the native tracks, except that they are rather 

 narrower, being from eight to fourteen inches wide. The kakapos 

 generally select the tops of spurs for the formation of their tracks. 

 I was curious to know how the birds would manage when the 

 ground was covered with snow. I found that they travelled on 

 the surface of the frozen snow, and that the tracks were plainly 

 visible. In many places the scrub, which consisted of silver pine, 

 ake-ake, and other alpine vegetation, was so dense that the snow 

 could not penetrate it. The kakapos take advantage of this to 

 make their habitations under the snow-covered scrub, where it 

 is both dry and warm. 



"They leave their burrows after sunset, and return before 

 daylight. If they cannot reach their own homes during the 

 darkness, they will shelter in any burrow which may be 

 unoccupied, as they travel long distances. They consume large 

 cjuantities of food, which consist of grass, grass-seed, and 

 other alpine vegetation. In July they are in splendid condition, 

 those found having as much as two inches of fat upon them. 

 The young birds are delicious food when roasted in the camp 

 oven. 



"In the spring when the sun begins to shed its warmth, the 

 kakapos emerge from their burrows, and select some favourable 

 spots in the sunshine, where they crouch down and remain the 

 whole day. In September, I selected a suitable day for observing 

 this peculiarity. The snow had disappeared from all the sunny 

 places. I found three birds in different places sitting upon low 

 silver-pine scrub. They took no notice of my approach until I 

 had them safely in my hand, when they endeavoured to release 

 themselves by biting and scratching. The bush kakapos, as well 

 as the alpine ones, become very fat in the winter months." 



