The Zoologist — August, 1873. 3621 



Observations on the Natural History of the Night Parrot of New 

 Zealand ( Kakapo of the Maories). By T. H. Potts, Esq. 



Thk following observations on the natural history of the night- 

 parrot {Stringops hahroptilus) may possess some interest to 

 ornithologists. With the exception of the pigeon {Carpophaga 

 Nova-ZealandicB) , the kakapo is perhaps the only true vegetarian 

 to be found amongst the birds of New Zealand ; bark, leaves, fruits, 

 form some portion of its food ; the tender fronds of ferns (piki-piki) 

 are also eaten. In traversing the deep ferny gullies and mossy 

 terraces of the Westland bush, its haunts may not unfrequently be 

 noted from the traces it has left on the bark of certain trees ; the 

 prime favourite of the forest, for its bark, tender shoots and leaves, 

 is one of the Araliaceae {Scheffiera digitata). This shrub, some- 

 times called kohi, is known to the West Coast graziers as the heener- 

 heener, — not to be confused with hine-hine {Melicytus ramiflorus), 

 — and greatly esteemed by them, for its extraordinary fattening 

 qualities ; in many places on the West Coast branches of it are cut 

 for cattle-fodder: up the river Waio in S. Westland we noticed 

 the marks of the kakapo on a great number of these trees, whilst 

 many other species growing close by them were left unscathed. 

 The favourite piki-piki is supplied by the young growth of Asple- 

 nium bulbiferum ; the more open grounds of river-beds, some parts 

 of the shores of inlets and sounds, exhibit here and there food- 

 tracks so peculiar as at once to attract notice : these food-tracks 

 appear as masses of chewed fibre from which nourishment has been 

 extracted with the leaf left attached to the plants : last month, on 

 the flat between the rivers Arthur and Cleddan, Milford Sound, we 

 observed specimens of these hanging pellets on the broom [Car- 

 michellia) , tohe, tohe {Arundo conspiciia), as well as on the phor- 

 mium : on plants of the last-named, leaves had been chewed quite 

 two feet from the point; this peculiar process caused the used 

 portion of the leaf to look as though it had been roughly scutched 

 and plaited. On dissecting a pigeon {Carpophaga) leaves are found 

 in the crop entire, whereas the food gathered by the kakapo is so 

 finely comminuted as to be found in a kind of felted mass; this, 

 when formed of piki-piki, gives out no unpleasant odour. The 

 kakapo has lately been called the owl-parrot, not an inappropriate 

 name if we consider its nocturnal habits, facial disk, &c. ; its 



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