NEW ZEALAND DEER-STALKING 119 



in the wings ; whilst the drake has very handsome 

 dark -green plumage, also with some colouring in the 

 wings. I'm afraid this description would not meet 

 with the approval of a scientific bird lover, but I never 

 saw one of these birds very close, and then only 

 through a glass. The female has a bright rather 

 cheerful call, which gets deeper when a warning note 

 is sounded, usually answered by the fuller and re- 

 assuring cry of the drake. 



We left camp about 7.30 and were on the top 

 of the hill by about 11. Passed a black rabbit on 

 the way, a lucky omen ! 



The tops were covered in mist and we could do 

 nothing at first. A ten-pointer came roaring down 

 the gully opposite to us, and though he had a good 

 head we decided to leave him in the hope of some- 

 thing better. Over the ridge we found an ugly seven- 

 pointer accompanied by five or six hinds. About three 

 o'clock Buckley spotted a hind right at the head of 

 a big slide on top of the hill, and the next minute 

 I found some more hinds and a stag. He had nice 

 tops, but it was hard to make out his head against 

 the grey background of rock at so great a distance. 

 However, we decided he was good enough to stalk, 

 and started to climb the hill. At the top we found 

 an eight-pointer, a very nice-looking young stag 

 with nine or ten hinds. We had to move him, but 

 he went the right way and left our stag undisturbed. 

 We were in full view of the latter animal for three 

 or four hundred yards but reached a hollow without 



