FIJI-NEW ZEALAND EXPEDITION 269 
five weeks’ stay in North Island. In the dense and little frequent- 
ed bush about Roto Ehu one example of the curious morepork 
owl (Spiloglaux nove-zealandie) was surprised by our collecting 
party. This bird is about twelve inches in length, strictly noc- 
turnal and during the day usually retires to the thick bush. At 
night it comes out to feed on mice, rats, insects and other small 
nocturnal animals. 
Several interesting representatives of the Psittaci oceur in the 
Dominion although they, too, have been forced to the back country 
and remnants of native bush. Perhaps the best known form is 
the kea (Nestor notabilis) which has acquired a taste for the kid- 
ney fat of sheep. It boldly attacks lambs and even adult sheep 
with its sharp, curved beak and strong claws, often injuring or 
even killing these animals. On this account a continuous warfare 
has been waged against it until the species is now found only in 
the more inaccessible mountainous districts of South Island. The 
Government has aided in the destruction of the kea by offering a 
bounty of two shillings for each bird killed. Captive individuals 
may be seen in some of the zoological parks. I was permitted to 
photograph those in the park at Wellington. The peculiar kakapo 
(Stringops habroptilus), sole representative of the family, has 
been much reduced in numbers and is now seldom seen. 
The commonest member of the Coceyges is the New Zealand 
kingfisher (Halcyon vagans) which is much like the Fijian form. 
Two cuckoos, both of which are migratory, occur in New Zealand. 
The shining cuckoo (Lamprococcyx lucidus) winters in northern 
Australia and New Guinea and arrives in New Zealand for the 
summer about October; the long-tailed cuckoo (Urodynamis taiten- 
sis) winters in islands to the north. 
Only about forty species of passerine birds occur in the Do- 
minion of which less than a dozen can be considered common. 
Some are peculiar to the region. 
I suppose that the active and beautiful little white-eye (Zos- 
terops lateralis) is the most abundant native land bird in New 
Zealand. Since first appearing in the country near Wellington 
in 1856 it has spread over both islands and has proved so valuable 
as an insect destroyer that it has become a great favorite. It 
frequents gardens, orchards and other cultivated areas, generally 
in flocks of some size. In the deep woods of the Mamaku bush, 
near Rotorua and Wellington, as well as in the Domain at Auck- 
land, and even in Albert Park in the center of the latter city, 
