AT PLAY. 



69 



how quickly a Kea will adapt itself to circumstances. This 

 particular bird, after I had carried her on my back for five 

 or six hours, got so accustomed to the motion that she 

 would call softly to herself, or eat strawberries out of my 

 hand as we went along. If the climbing was rough and the 

 cage was temporarily upside down, she would brace herself 

 with feet and beak, and quietly wait until she was righted. 

 So quiet, indeed, did she become, and so docile, that we 



UP TO MISCHIEF : A Kea playing with a camera bag, 

 ON THE Fox Glacier. 



called her Angela We chose a rocky promontory, 



with a stunted birch on the end of it, for our traps, as it 

 commanded a fine view of the gully and could be seen from 

 our camp. 



" Here we set our traps, and, it being already dark, we 

 returned to camp for the night. 



"One of the call birds we kept in a wire-netting run 

 near the tent, and also in sight of the bird up by the traps. 

 The advantage of this was that if our distant bird saw 

 others early in the morning, and began calling, the bird at 

 camp would answer and wake us up. 



