ii8 Bird -Lore 



Canary. It is one of the Grass Warblers, a very loosely defined family of 

 Old World birds. As its name implies, the bright yellow head is a dis- 

 tinctive mark of recognition. The yellow extends over the throat and 

 under parts, while the back, wings and tail are olive-brown in tone. I 

 had no opportunity of observing a near relative of this species, the White- 

 head, which, though nearly extinct, may still be occasionally encountered 

 in the North Island. 



On this same ride into the heart of the Routeburn Valley, through 

 forests of wind-swept beeches, with lofty peaks rising on either hand, in 

 whose drear hollows glaciers crawled fro.m summits of perennial snow, I 

 saw the famous Kaka Parrot and heard its wild, shrill call. It is a large 

 bird, a foot and a half long, of an olive-brown color, suffused with dark 

 red and varied here and there with a tinge of yellow. This bird, which, 

 before the advent of the white man was a vegetarian, has changed its 

 habits with the introduction of sheep, having discovered that kidneys are 

 excellent eating and may be secured with the aid of its sharp curved 

 beak. In consequence of this Epicurean taste for sheep's kidneys, the 

 colonists are waging incessant warfare on the Kaka, and the bird has 

 become very rare except in remote solitudes. 



Another member of the Parrot tribe, the Orange -fronted Parrakeet, 

 crossed my path and gave me a glimpse of his showy plumage. He was 

 dressed in a regulation parrot -green, with an orange band on the fore- 

 head and a stripe of crimson across the head. The bright blue of the 

 flight -feathers completed his coat of many colors, making him altogether 

 one of the most gaudy birds of all New Zealand. The Kakapo, or Ow 

 Parrot, occurs also in this region, but is so rare that extinction threatens 

 it in the near future. Although provided with wings, the flight muscles 

 are so inadequately developed that the Kakapo is unable to lift itself from 

 the ground. It is about the size of one of the larger Owls, and of a dull 

 mottled-green color. Like the Owls, it is nocturnal in habit, and in 

 structure differs so considerably from all other Parrots that systematists 

 have placed it in a separate family. 



Even in such mountain fastnesses as the country about the head of Lake 

 Wakatipu, some of the most interesting birds of New Zealand can seldom 

 be seen. The Kiwis, or Apter^'xes, several species of which were once 

 abundant in the ferny-jungles, are becoming very scarce despite their shy- 

 ness and nocturnal habits. They are quaint creatures without wings, with 

 long, delicate snipe-like bills, and feet that might belong to a fowl. They 

 are allies of the Ostrich family and in some respects are the lowest of 

 living birds. Four species of Kiwis still exist, but they are daily getting 

 nearer to extinction. Such is also the case with the interesting flightless 

 Wood-hen, or Weka, a curious member of the Rail family, once abundant 

 in the wooded parts of New Zealand. The great family of Wingless 



