2858 The Zoologist— December, 1871. 



till the noose had been removed. One of these birds was placed 

 on the floor under an inverted American bucket, the places for the 

 handle not permitting ihe rim of the bucket to touch the ground : 

 the kea, taking advantage of this, wedged its long beak into the 

 space; using its head as a lever, it moved the bucket, raising it 

 SLifl^ciently to effect an escape from its prison. 



On the other side of the river, just opposite to where this is 

 being written, one station is greatly favoured by these visitors; 

 during the winter season they become a perfect nuisance. On one 

 occasion the hut was shut up, as the shepherd was elsewhere 

 required for a day or two : on his return he was surprised to hear 

 something moving within the hut; on entering, he found it pro- 

 ceeded from a kea, which had gained access by the chimney : this 

 socially-disposed bird had evidently endeavoured to dispel the 

 ennui attendant on solitude by exercising its powerful mandibles 

 most industriously ; blankets, bedding and clothes were greviously 

 rent and torn, pannikins and plates scattered about, everything that 

 could be broken was apparently broken very carefully ; even the 

 window-frame had been attacked with great diligence; in fact the 

 bird gave a new reading to that moral line of warning, — "For 

 Satan finds some inisch ief stWl for idle hands to do." 



Notwithstanding the high character various individuals of the 

 species have earned for occasional indulgence in mischief, several 

 have been kept as pets, — not in wooden cages by-the-bye, for a 

 kea has been seen by its gratified captor to eat its way out of such 

 a place of confinement almost as quickly as it had been coaxed to 

 enter into it. Two which had been tamed by a neighbouring 

 friend were permitted to wander at large : they regularly returned 

 to the house for their meals, and then rambled away again, 

 scrambling and clamouring amongst the trees and outbuildings; 

 any kind of food appeared to suit their accommodating appetite, but 

 a piece of raw meat was evidently the bonne houche. 



On the level ground its mode of locomotion is very peculiar : it is 

 not so much a walk as a kind of hopping jump, which imparts a 

 very odd appearance to its gait ; but when its strong climbing foot 

 is observed, this is not to be wondered at: at a glance it will be 

 seen how inferior is the strength and power of the two inside, in 

 proportion to that of the outer toes; the short tarsi are also unfitted 

 for walking. 



In addition to the superior size of the bird and the colour of its 



