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descending to the plains only during severe winters when its customary haunts are covered with snow 
and its means of subsistence have consequently failed 
That distinguished explorer and geologist, the late Professor von Hochstetter, in describing the 
physical features of New Zealand, gives the following graphic account of the grand scenery in the 
South Island : — “ High, precipitous, craggy mountain ranges, intersected by narrow longitudinal 
valleys, run parallel to each other from Foveaux Strait to Cook’s Strait. They are connected by 
transverse ridges and intersected by the deep transverse valleys of the various rivers. In the centre 
of this range are seen, towering up in majestic grandeur, the peaks of Mount Cook, Tasman, and the 
adjacent mountain giants, glistening with perpetual snow and ice, to a height of 13,000 feet above 
the level of the sea, almost as high as Mont Blanc. Splendid glacier streams, lovely mountain lakes, 
magnificent cataracts, mountain passes, and gloomy ravines with roaring mountain streams rushing 
through them — such are the charms of a wild and uninhabited Alpine region but seldom trodden by 
human foot ! ” But this furnishes only a passing glimpse of our noble southern Alps, with their lofty 
peaks, capped with perpetual snow, flanked with glaciers of almost measureless depth, and presenting 
some of the finest mountain scenery in the world. In the deep valleys which divide these upheaved 
zones of stratified rocks of different ages luxuriant forests flourish, and on the high mountain-slopes 
there is the characteristic low vegetation, becoming more and more stunted as it approaches the line 
of perpetual snow. Such are the haunts of the Kea ! I have seen it soaring or flying — often in 
parties of three or more — from one peak to another, high above the wooded valley ; but it is more 
generally to be met with on the open mountain side, flying from rock to rock, or hopping along 
the ground amongst the stunted alpine vegetation, in quest of its natural food. 
Sir James Hector found it everywhere in the snow-mountains of Otago during his topographical 
survey of that region in 1861-62. As a rule these birds were so tame there that he had no difficulty 
in knocking them over with a stone, or other missile, when he wanted to replenish his larder. 
For many years the Kea ranked amongst our rarest species, and it is not very long ago that a 
specimen fetched £25 in the London market. But all this is changed, and, although still of very 
rare occurrence in the northern parts of the South Island, and quite unknown in the North Island, it 
has become, as will presently appear, an absolute pest in the middle and southern districts. 
At the heads of all the principal rivers in the provincial district of Canterbury it is comparatively 
common ; and especially near the sources of the Rangitata river. 
The late Sir Julius von Haast sent me, from time to time, some beautiful specimens obtained in 
these localities, in the course of his geological and other scientific work. He informed me that in 
disposition it is most inquisitive, prying into and examining everything that comes in its way. On 
one occasion he left a large bundle of valuable alpine plants, which he had collected with much 
labour, lying exposed on the summit of a lofty mountain-crag. During his temporary absence a Kea 
* “ The rigour of a hard winter, when the whole face of the alpine country is changed so as to he scarcely recognizable under 
a deep canopy of snow, is not without its influence on the habits of this hardy bird. It is then driven from its stronghold in 
the rocky gully, and compelled to seek its food at a far less elevation, as its food-supply has passed away gradually at the 
approach of winter, or lies buried beyond 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 Coprosmas, the trailing Paimelias, 
or the sharp-leaved Leucopogos, has succumbed to the stern rule of winter. Nor has this change of season affected the flora of 
the Alps alone ; the insect world, in a thousand forms, which enlivened every mountain-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 sleep, sheltered beneath some 
well-pressed stone. Under the effects of such a change, that cuts off the supply of food, the Kea gradually descends the gullies, 
where a certain amount of shelter has encouraged the growth of the kowhai that yields its supply of hard, bitter seeds, the 
beautiful Pittosporums with their small hard seeds packed in clusters, and the black-berried Aristotelia : these and numerous 
other shrubs or trees, such as the pitch-pine and totara, furnish the means of life to the Parrot. It is during the continuance 
of this season that we have had tho best opportunities of becoming somewhat familiar with it ."’ — Out in the Open. 
