ON THE HABITS OF THE KEA. 293 
supply has passed away gradually at the approach of winter, or 
lies buried beneath its reach. The honey-bearing flowers have 
faded and fallen long before; the season that succeeded with its 
lavish yield of berries and drupes that gaily decked the close- 
growing Coprosma, the trailing Pimelia, or the sharp-leaved 
Leucopogon, has succumbed to the stern rule of winter. Nor has 
this change of seasons affected the flora of the Alps alone. The 
insect world, in a thousand forms, which enlivened every moun- 
tain gully with the chirp and busy hum of life, now lies entranced 
in its mummy state, as inanimate as the torpid lizard that takes 
its winter’s sleep sheltered beneath some well-pressed stone. 
Under the effects of this great change that cuts off such a supply 
of food, the Kea gradually descends the gullies, where a certain 
amount of shelter has encouraged the growth of the Kowai that 
yields its supply of hard bitter seeds, the beautiful Pittosporum 
with their small dark seeds packed in- gluten, and the black- 
berried Aristotelia ; these and numerous other shrubs or trees, 
such as the Pitch-pine and Totara, furnish some of the means of 
life to this parrot. It is during the continuance of this season that 
we have had the best opportunities of becoming somewhat 
familiar with it. 
_ Within the last few years it has discovered the out-stations of 
some of the back-country settlers. Of course every station has 
that indispensable requisite, a meat-gallows ; it has found out and 
fully appreciates the value of this institution, as occasionally 
affording an excellent supply of food; the gallows is generally 
visited by night, beef or mutton equally suffer from the voracity 
of the Kea, nor are the drying sheep-skins despised. These 
visits may be looked upon quite as social gatherings, for it is by 
no means a rare occurrence for a score of these noisy parrots to 
be perched on the roof of a hut at one time. It has been before 
observed that some species of the Trichoglossine affect a meat 
diet occasionally ; the Kaka is fond of picking up shreds of fat; 
whilst at some out-stations in the interior, carcases of sheep 
hanging in the meat-gallows are at times covered with busy 
groups of beautiful green parroquets, that move restlessly about 
within and without the carcases, rending away morsels of fat. 
Here we have representatives of two genera of our honey-eating 
parrots showing a keen relish for grosser food than the delicate 
sweets that may be gleaned from expanded flowers. 
