230 Reviews. [,st^ April 



of sheep hanging at the slaughtering-places on the sheep- 

 stations, and tearing off the scraps of flesh and fat adhering to 

 the skins thrown on the fences to dry. From that to attacking 

 the living animals when these were half-buried in snow and 

 unable to resist, the transition was easy. For forty years the 

 bird has been banned, with a price on its head (varying from 

 2s. 6d. to lOs.), and at first, while the birds were plentiful, 

 station hands carried firearms and destroyed large numbers, the 

 rewards making a substantial addition to their ordinary earnings. 

 Afterwards, as they became less numerous, men were employed 

 specially to hunt them. Mr. Marriner, in search of information, 

 visited the " Kea country " — the region of the snow-clad 

 mountains of the South Island — and in addition was assisted by 

 numerous correspondents located in the area inhabited by the 

 birds. The evidence was carefully sifted, and the author, while 

 believing that the depredations of the Kea, like those of most 

 outlaws, were greatly exaggerated, says : — " I think I am justified 

 in saying that, as far as human evidence can be relied on, I 

 have conclusively proved that the Kea has not only taken to 

 meat-eating, but that it does actually attack and kill sheep." 

 Not all the birds, however, appear to take part in the killing. 

 Mr. Marriner compares the culprits to the man-eating tigers, 

 declaring that a few old birds usually kill the sheep, while the 

 others join in the feast. Their attacks are usually made at 

 night or in the early morning, and the mode seems to vary but 

 little. Jumping on the animal's back, generally on the rump, 

 where they appear best able to retain their hold, they first pull 

 out the wool, then tear the skin and flesh, continuing the attack 

 until the sheep either falls exhausted, or, rushing frantically 

 about in a usually vain effort to dislodge its tormentor, it falls 

 over a precipice and is killed, in which case the bird lets go its 

 hold when the animal begins to fall, but follows it to enjoy its 

 ill-gotten meal. Sometimes making its escape after being 

 cruelly lacerated, the victim suffers from a festering sore, and 

 finally succumbs to blood-poisoning. Although animals other 

 than sheep are rarely interfered with, instances are reported of 

 attacks on horses, dogs, and rabbits, and in one case the body of 

 a man who had met his death by accident was mutilated by the 

 birds. The Kea breeds in winter, nesting in crevices of rocks, 

 the white eggs (as many as four have been found in a nest) 

 being deposited on a small quantity of tussock-grass sometimes 

 6 feet distant from the entrance. That the birds are still 

 common in the mountainous parts of the South Island ]the 

 author attributes to the fact that their nests are very difficult to 

 reach. Apart from its scientific interest, as a sportive, inquisitive 

 bird — it is even said to indulge in occasional practical jokes — 

 it has such diverting ways that its extermination should be 

 guarded against, and this perhaps could be most easily done 



