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spoke of its affectionate and playful disposition. During the whole time that the bird has been in 
my possession it has never shown the slightest sign of ill-temper, but has invariably been good- 
humoured and eager to receive any attention. Its playfulness is remarkable. It will run from a 
comer of the room, seize my hand with claws and beak, and tumble over and over with it exactly 
like a kitten, and then rush back to be invited to a fresh attack. Its play becomes sometimes a little 
severe ; but the slightest check makes it more gentle. It has also, apparently, a strong sense of 
humour. I have sometimes amused myself by placing a dog or cat close to its cage ; and it has 
danced backwards and forwards with outstretched wings, evidently with the intention of shamming 
anoer, and has testified its glee at the success of the manoeuvre by the most absurd and grotesque 
attitudes. One trick especially it has, which it almost invariably uses when pleased : and that is to 
march about with its head twisted round, and its beak in the air— wishing, I suppose, to see how 
things look the wrong way up; or, perhaps, it wishes to fancy itself in New Zealand again. I he 
highest compliment it can pay you is to nestle down on your hand, ruffle out its feathers, and lower 
its wings, flapping them alternately, and shaking its head from side to side ; when it does this it is in 
a superlative state of enjoyment. I do not think it is quite correct to say that it has duty habits , 
certainly it is not worse in this respect than an ordinary Parrot. 
“ I am surprised to find that during the time it was in the Zoological Gardens it very rarely 
showed itself in the daytime. My experience has been the reverse of this. It has generally been 
lively enough during the greater part of the day, though not quite so violent and noisy as at night. 
I had this bird at Saltburn, in Yorkshire, during the summer ; and any of your readers who were at 
that place in the month of August, will remember seeing this bird at the bazaar held in aid of the 
district church, on which occasion its playfulness never flagged during the whole day. This may 
partly have been due to excitement at seeing so many strange faces ; but it also, no doubt, felt the 
excellence of the cause (recollect, Sir G. Grey testifies to its cleverness and intelligence), and exerted 
itself accordingly to help the Church-building 1 und. 
In another account of the habits of the particular bird in his possession, Mr. Sale remarks : — 
“ I observe that it rarely makes any noise by day; but about dusk it usually begins to screech, its 
object being apparently to attract attention ; for if let loose from its cage and allowed to have its 
usual play, it ceases to make any noise. It also makes a grunting noise when eating, especially if 
pleased ; and I have myself attracted it to me by imitating the same sound. It also screeches some- 
times when handled, not apparently from anger, but more from timidity.” In a note he adds: — 
“The sound of the bird is not a shrill scream, but a muffled screech, more like a mingled grunt and 
screech.” 
Sir James Hector found the Kakapo very numerous on the west coast of the Otago Province 
during his exploration of that country in 1861-62 ; and his collection of birds in the Otago Museum 
contains many beautiful specimens of it. He succeeded in bringing some live ones to Dunedin ; but 
although they had become perfectly tame, they did not long survive their confinement. Having had 
good opportunities of studying this bird in its native haunts, the following additional particulars from 
his pen will be read with interest : — 
“ The name of Owl Parrot is very appropriate, from the aspect of its head and face, as the bill is 
short and almost buried among feathers and long bristly hairs like the whiskers of a cat. These 
whiskers, no doubt, are used in the same manner, as delicate feelers for distinguishing objects in the 
dark, as the Kakapo is strictly nocturnal in its habits— never stirring from the holes and burrows in 
which it rests during the day until nightfall. They then emerge from the woods to the sides of the 
rivers ; and, as they feed, their harsh screams can be heard at intervals until they return at daybreak 
to the depths of the forest. Notwithstanding the shortness of their legs and large size of their feet, 
they run at a good pace, with a waddling duck-like gait ; and though they climb with great facility, 
