3084 THE ZOOLOGIST—JUNE, 1872. 
As its name Stringops indicates, its face bears a resemblance to that of an 
owl, and our knowledge of the structure and habits of the bird would seem 
to prove that it supplies in the grand scheme of nature the connecting link 
between the owls and parrots. In all the essential characteristics of 
structure it is a true parrot; but in the possession of a facial disk (in which 
respect it differs from all other known parrots), in the soft texture of its 
plumage, and especially in its decidedly nocturnal habits, it betrays strong 
affinities to the owl tribe. Its toes, as in all other members of the order, are 
zygodactyle; but as pointed out by Mr. I. W. Wood, in an interesting 
article communicated to the ‘Student’ (1870, p. 492), the foot of an owl, 
when the bird is perched, considerably resembles that of a parrot, as the 
outer toe is then placed backwards with the hind one, so that the bird’s feet 
may be said to be temporarily ddr whereas those of the parrot are 
permanently so. *k * * * * 
« Although exclusively a capitis eater, its habit of hiding during the 
day in holes of trees and dark burrows, exhibits a further point of resem- 
blance to the nocturnal birds of prey. As these latter are in reality night 
hawks, so is this bird, what the native name ‘kakapo’ implies, a night 
parrot; and the analogy thus presented, harmonizes with the idea of its 
being the connecting link between the Accipitres and Psittaci. 
“The feathers surrounding the eyes and filling the lores differ from those 
on the other parts of the body not only in being of a lighter colour, but also 
in form and structure, being narrow and penicillate, with the shaft consider- 
ably produced. Those overlapping the base of the lower mandible are more 
stiff and elongated. 
« All who have studied the bird in its natural state, agree on this point, 
that the wings, although sufficiently large and strong, are perfectly useless 
for purposes of flight, and that the bird merely spreads them to break the 
force of its fall in descending from a higher point to a lower when suddenly 
surprised; in some instances (as one of the writers quoted below informs 
us) even this use of them is neglected, the bird falling to the ground like a 
stone. 
«We are naturally led to ask how it is that a bird possessing large and 
well-formed wings should be found utterly incapable of flight. On removing 
the skin from the body it is seen that the muscles by means of which the 
movements of these anterior limbs are regulated, are very well developed, 
put are largely overlaid with fat. The bird is known to be a ground-feeder, 
with a voracious appetite, and to subsist chiefly on vegetable mosses, which, 
possessing but little nutriment, require to be eaten in large quantities; and 
Dr. Haast informs us that he has sometimes seen them with their crops so 
distended and heavy that the birds were scarcely able to move. 
«These mosses cover the ground and the roots or trunks of prostrate 
trees, requiring to be sought for on foot; and the birds’ habit of feeding at 
