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13 



small size and specific gravity of its body, as compared with the great development of wings and 

 tail and corresponding mnscles, enable it to continue these wanderings for a whole day without 

 any apparent fatigue. When sailing, as it often does,.at a high elevation, the wings are inclined 

 upwards so as to form a broad obtuse angle (with the tail half spread), and there is no perceptible 

 motion in them, except when the bird alters its course, A pair may often be seen sailing thus 

 in company, mounting higher with each gyration, and emitting a peevish whistle as they cross 

 each other's course. On these occasions I have sometimes seen the birds close in upon and 

 attack each other, the upper one making the first swoop, and the lower one instantly turning on its 

 back, with upstretched talons, to receive him, and, after thus parrying the attack, wheeling 

 upwards and becoming in turn the assailant. Whether it be the angry meeting of rival males, 

 or the amorous gambols of " raptorial lovers," I have never been able to determine ; but this 

 aerial encounter, whether in earnest or in play, has a very pretty efiect. It is worthy of remark 

 that the birds of the first year are apparently incapable of the peculiar sailing flight which I have 

 described, their locomotion being effected entirely by slowly repeated flappings of the wings. This 

 circumstance, taken in conjunction with the dark colour of the young bird (appearing perfectly 

 black at a little distance), has led to the common belief that there are two distinct species. 



When gorged with food, the Harrier takes up its station on a rising knoll, a projecting 

 stump, or the naked limb of a detached tree standing in the open, when it assumes an erect pos- 

 ture, with the head drawn closely in and the wings folded, and remains perfectly motionless for a 

 considerable time. When thus reposing, it is possible to get within gun-range of a " Kahu 

 korako," or very old bird; but at other times it is extremely difficult to obtain a shot. Hawks 

 are known to be long-lived ; and they appear to gain more experience of the world as they grow 

 older. The dark-plumaged Harrier falls an easy prey to the gunner : it may be winged as it 

 sails above him at an easy elevation, or it may be approached quickly and surprised when it 

 descends to the ground to capture and devour a mouse or lizard. But the wary old " White 

 Hawk" carries with him the experience of many dangers, and is not so easily taken. I have 

 followed one for the greater part of a day before I have succeeded in shooting it. These old 

 birds, notwithstanding the extreme abundance of the species, are comparatively rare, and they 

 are called Kahu-korako by the natives, in allusion to their hoary plumage. Birds in ordinary 

 adult plumage are also somewhat shy; but on horseback I have often approached near enough 

 to detect the colour of the cere and legs. 



Besides devouring carrion of all kinds, the Harrier subsists on rats, mice, lizards, feeble or 

 wounded birds, and even grubs and spiders. One, which I had confined in an outhouse, subsisted 

 for several days entirely on spiders, for which he made a systematic search among the cobwebs that 

 covered the walls. At the close of each day I found him with a matted circlet of spider's web sur- 



On my offering him the body of a Wood-Eobin [Petroeca longipes) 

 he struck his talons into it, and, holding it firmly down, plucked oif the feathers with his beak 

 with remarkable rapidity, and then, tearing it to pieces, devoured it — the whole proceeding 

 occupying only a few minutes. Mr. Gilbert Mair, who kept several of these birds in confine- 

 ment for a considerable time, fed them frequently with freshwater fish, which they devoured with 

 great avidity; and he assures me that he has observed them, in the wild state, capturing mullets 

 in a shallow fish-pond. 



rounding the base of the bill. 



