AT PLAY. 71 



that we had. This we used to make a little run. at the 

 entrance of which we placed ' Angela ' in her cage, hoping 

 that we could drive the wild birds into it, but half-an-hour's 

 vain endeavour convinced us of the futility of this scheme. 



"Then I decided that I would return to camp for a camera, 

 so that I could photograph the birds, even though unable to 

 capture them. I descended n'a a shingle slide, and the noise 

 of the stones rattling down with me attracted the birds, which 

 accompanied me down to camp, and when I got back with the 

 camera only one had returned. The sun had by this time 

 risen over the mountain behind us, and the day was bright and 

 hot. Everything was propitious for good pictures, but before I 

 had the camera ready the bird flew screeching up the gully. 

 Very disappointed and hot, we returned to camp. 



"That evening at four o'clock we again climbed to the 

 traps. Shortly after our arrival we saw a bird, and I called it 

 down, when it proved to be the unattached male of the 

 morning, readily distinguished by the state of his moult. We 

 set a trap out on the ledge of a rock, evening up the surface 

 with small stones. The bird came down, and taking the stones 

 one by one, dropped them over the edge. Next, standing 

 well outside the trap, he began chewing one of the sticks, with 

 the result that the cage fell down. It was very laughable, 

 but it scared the Kea, and he flew away ; nor did we see 

 him again." 



