HAUNTS AND HABITS. 45 



always made a point of demolishing each plant we got. He 

 seemed to need roots for his digestion ; he was never so 

 well when he did not have them two or three times a week. 

 The Keas always like the flax honey, though they don't care 

 for the seeds. In fact, honey seems much more to their 

 taste than berries, except the CoprasmK." 



The above accounts seem to me to give a fair idea of 

 the Kea's food supply before it took to sheep-killing. 



One can easily imagine him in spring and summer 

 fossicking in the cushiony vegetation of the sub-alpine 

 meadows for insect larvge, or flying in and out of the bush 

 in search of honey and fruits ; while in autumn and winter 

 he would be searching for insects among the crevices of 

 the rocks or eating the berries of the forest. Now that he 

 has taken to sheep-killing much of his spare time is used in 

 worrying the sheep, and in winter the mutton must make a 

 welcome addition to his scanty larder. 



