CHAPTER II. 



DESCRIPTION. 



lu the midst, iridescent ami glowiuK, 



F\ill-breasted, bead-eyed, 

 Briglit as the Argus showing-, 



Not knowing its pride. 



— JOHANNK.S C. AnDKRSEN. 



There is nothing very graceful about the Kea, neither 

 in appearance nor in movement. He is a clumsy, awkward- 

 looking, olive-green bird, somewhat larger than a domestic 

 pigeon, with a flat head and a long, sharp, curved beak. 

 His legs are short, so that his tail is often dragging on 

 the ground ; and, when not hopping, at which he is an 

 adept, he moves with an ungraceful waddle. There are 

 four toes on each foot, slate-coloured, as is the tarsus, 

 and not only are they placed two each "fore and aft," but 

 they are long and seem unfit for much walking. To add 

 to his clumsiness, when walking the bird often places the 

 tarsus as well as the foot on the ground, so that feathers 

 on the legs touch the ground. 



When the bird settles after flying he appears somewhat 

 graceful, but he very soon ruffies his feathers and hides his 

 symmetry. 



The intensity in the colouring of the plumage varies 

 largely according to the season of the year or the age of 

 the bird. Often some appear to be of a dirty, washed-out, 

 brownish green, while others have a beautiful olive-green 

 plumage, tinted with red and brown. 



Dull olive-green feathers, edged with black, cover the 

 whole body, except for a band of brick-red feathers (upper 

 tail coverts) over the base of the tail, and a large patch 

 of similarly coloured feathers under each wing. 



