52 THE KEA. 



As no one had been near the nest since then, it was 

 almost intact when we found it ; and with the exception of 

 the stone removed from the entrance it was just as the birds 

 used it. To call their breeding place a nest is almost to use 

 a misnomer ; for the birds choose a natural tunnel in the 

 rocks, one with a narrow opening, just wide enough to 

 allow them to pass in and out, and then place a few pieces 

 of tussock grass at the far end, where the female lays her 

 eggs. 



Such was the one I saw. The tunnel or " run " went 

 about six feet into the rock. The opening, after the removal 

 of the large stone, was in the shape of a triangle. The 

 distance from apex to base was fourteen inches, and 

 the base measured nineteen inches. I squeezed in as far 

 as I could, and found, on lighting a match, that the tunnel 

 narrowed as it approached the end, and here in the narrowest 

 part the nest was placed. This nest, at the time it was 

 robbed, contained four young birds. 



On the opposite side of the small ravine were the remains 

 of another nest ; but the opening was so narrow that I could 

 not get even my head in, and nothing less than dynamite 

 would have widened it. This hole was thirty inches deep 

 and thirteen inches across at its widest part, but it narrowed 

 rapidly as it left the surface. It ran back some ten feet into 

 solid rock and there again enlarged greatly. 



After taking notes of both nests, I set to work to 

 photograph them ; and not only was the situation awkward 

 owing to the proximity of the cliff, but our troubles were 

 augmented by the rain and mist, which owing to the lateness 

 of the afternoon made the light very feeble. However, as I 

 had come especially to obtain photographs of this phase of the 

 Kea's life history, I fixed my camera up in the wet, and, 

 after consulting photometer, gave the plates nearly fifteen 

 minutes' exposure. 



Fortunately, on development the negatives came up well. 

 As already remarked, I think they are the first photographs 

 ever taken of a Kea's nest. 



While trying to trap some Keas on the Glenthorne 

 Homestead in January, 1908, Mr Edgar F. Stead was 



