232 THE KIWI-KIWI ; [PART n. 



erful feet, or turns up with its long slender beak. 

 But insects seem not to be its only food. Professor 

 Owen found seeds in its stomach, which I ascer- 

 tained to be those of the Elaeocarpus hinau ; and, 

 according to the statements of the natives, the seeds 

 of the Hamelinia veratroides are also a favourite 

 food with it. Little is known as to the nidification 

 and incubation of the kiwi ; but I have ascertained 

 the following particulars from the natives : They 

 say that it burrows with its feet, and hollows out 

 to a greater extent excavations already existing 

 under the roots of trees ; and in them, on a single 

 layer of grass, it lays one egg of a greenish colour 

 and as large as a turkey's egg. They also assert 

 that the male and female hatch alternately. Their 

 notion as to the period of incubation is rather 

 curious, as they say that the bird sits for several 

 months upon the egg. 



During the night the shrill cry of the kiwi is 

 often heard : the male utters the sound hoire, hoire, 

 hoire ; the female, ho, ho, ho. By imitating these 

 notes the natives decoy the kiwi, and catch them 

 with the help of a dog, or bewilder them by sud- 

 denly delaying a torch made of the resinous hauri- 

 pine ; by which plan they catch them alive. A 

 violent struggle generally ensues between the dog 

 and the bird, in which the kiwi uses its powerful 

 legs with great effect. It is said to be very swift 

 in running, although its feet do not seem better 

 adapted for that purpose than those of the common 

 fowl. 



