THE KIDNEY THEORY. 109 



injures the loin, not because the kidneys are there, but 

 because it is the easiest and in some cases the only possible 

 point of attack. Nearly all my correspondents say that, from 

 what they have seen, the Kea with few exceptions always 

 settles on the sheep's hind-quarters. 



The first reason for this is that the rump is the widest 

 and most solid part of the sheep's back, and so forms a firm 

 platform for the bird to alight on. Some eye-witnesses say 

 that it is the only place where a Kea can retain its hold on a 

 sheep. 



One states : — " It is almost impossible for a Kea to stick 

 on a sheep's back, while pecking it, in any other position 

 than behind the kidneys facing- the head. I have seen them 

 trying to hang on to the sheep's back, but unless they were 

 in the position described they could not stay on for ten 

 yards." 



A musterer, writing to me concerning Keas that had 

 worried some sheep in a sheep-camp, says : — " They did not 

 seem to follow the same sheep, but just hopped on to the 

 first one they came to. Sometimes, when one got on a 

 sheep's back in a good position — behind the kidneys, facing 

 the head, — it would keep pecking, and would keep the sheep 

 jumping round and through the mob for a long time." 



Secondly, when the Kea flies after a sheep the rump is 

 the nearest and handiest part to settle on, and, as the sheep 

 often stumbles and throws the bird off^, it will often have to 

 regain its seat while the poor beast is running ; so it is no 

 wonder that this part is nearly always selected. 



Thirdly, when the Kea is once perched on the sheep's back, 

 it will naturally begin to peck at the handiest part, and this 

 is certainly the loin. Fortunately for the bird, that part is 

 the least protected portion of the whole sheep, for the loins 

 are the only places where the internal organs are unprotected 

 by ribs or other bone. Thus the bird can easily tear its 

 way into the body cavity. 



There seems to be very little doubt that the preceding 

 reasons do more to determine the Kea's point of attack than 

 the presence of the kidneys or kidney fat. Though the bird 



