CHAP. II.] LARGE PARROT. 55 



from May to October, all whaling was prohibited 

 within a certain distance from the shores of New 

 Zealand, and a man-of-war cutter kept to enforce 

 obedience to this rule. 



Behind Te-awa-iti the land rises in steep ravines., 

 which are covered with various kinds of wood, or 

 are cultivated by the natives. Whenever the wea- 

 ther permitted, I rambled through the delightful 

 and shady forest. It was inhabited by flocks of the 

 kaka, or large parrot (nestor hypopolius, Wag.), one 

 of the three species which inhabit the islands of New 

 Zealand ; it is closely allied to that isolated and 

 now probably exterminated species, the Philip 

 Island parrot, and has many peculiarities in its 

 shape and habits. The bill is more elongated than 

 that of other parrots, and of a greyish colour ; the 

 forehead and crown are brown, with a tinge of 

 green ; the face and ear-coverts yellow, tipped with 

 red ; the neck, breast, and wings of a dull red, with 

 a dark-green tint ; the abdomen is of a deep red, 

 and the tail brownish. The male is smaller than 

 the female, and of a redder plumage. 



This bird lives upon the fleshy and amylaceous 

 fruits of the hinau (Elacocarpus hinau), of the 

 tawai (Leiospermum racemosum), of the miro (Po- 

 docarpus ferruginea), and of the mai (Dacrydium 

 mai). It only feeds upon the fleshy parts of these 

 fruits, and has not the power of opening their hard 

 stones with its beak. The tongue is small, termi- 

 nating in several filaments. In captivity it feeds 



