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35 



the greatest accident that this bird, not at all rare in those untrodden regions, could be 



obtained. 



" The true habitat of the Kakapo is the mossy open Fagus-ioxe^t, near mountain-streams, 



with occasional grassy plots ; but it also lives both on the hill-sides, amongst enormous blocks of 



rock, mostly overgrown with roots of trees and a deep covering of moss, and on wooded flats along 



the banks of the larger rivers, liable to be inundated by heavy rainfalls or by the sudden melting 



of the snow It is a striking fact, that, with the exception only of the valley of the river 



Makarora, forming Lake Wanaka, I never found the Kakapo on the eastern side of the Alps, 



althouo-h extensive i^a^MS-forests exist there also. It appears to have crossed the main chain at 



Makaror 



Wanaka 



to its further advance. It is very abundant in the valley of the last-mentioned river, and is found 



Makarora 



When 



camped on the borders of that forest, we continually heard its call near our tents ; but none of 

 the sawyers had any idea of the existence of such a large bird in their neighbourhood, although 

 the irregular shrill call had sometimes attracted their attention. It also occurs in the valley of 

 the Wilkm, but is less numerous there, which may be accounted for by the existence of wild dogs 

 in this locality. We may therefore safely assume that from the junction of this river with the 

 Makarora the Kakapo ascended toward the sources of the former. In the valley of the Hunter, 

 only divided by a mountain-range of great altitude but with some low saddles, no sign of it was 

 to be observed, although large i<«yws-forests would appear to offer a propitious abode 



This bird has hitherto been pronounced to be of true nocturnal habits ; but I thmk, trom obser- 

 vations I was able to make, that this opinion ought to be somewhat modified. It is true that 

 generally an hour after sunset, the dense foliage of the forest giving additional darkness to the 

 country, its call began to be heard all around us. It then commenced to rove about, and, attracted 

 by the glare of our camp-fire, frequently came close to our tent, when the heedless bird was imme- 

 diately caught by our dog. But as we met with it on two occasions in the daytime, occupied in 

 feeding, and as I observed that it knew and understood perfectly well the danger which approached, 

 we may safely assume that it has, at least in this respect, some relation to diurnal birds. In order 

 to show why I come to this conclusion, I will particularize the two occurrences I have mentioned, 

 especially as they appear to bear directly upon some other important points in the structure of 

 this bird. When returning from the west coast, we observed, in the afternoon (the sky being 

 clouded), a Kakapo sitting on the prostrate trunk of a tree in the open forest. When about ten 

 yards from it, the bird observed us, and disappeared instantly in its hole, whence, with the aid of 

 the dog, we afterwards took it. It is clear that in this case the bird was not overtaken by the 

 coming day, when far away from its abode, but that it left its retreat voluntarily during daylight. 

 The second instance I shall mention is more striking, and shows that the Kakapo feeds also 

 during the day. It was towards evening, but still broad daylight, when we passed along the hill- 

 side near a deep rocky gorge, and saw a large Kakapo sitting on a low fuchsia tree, about ten 

 feet from the ground, feeding on the berries. When close to it, the bird saw us, and instantly 

 dropped down, as if shot, and disappeared amongst the huge fragments of rocks strewed along the 

 hill-side. But the most remarkable circumstance was, that the frightened bird did not open its 



f2 



♦ 



