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remain many days, or even weeks, in the same piece of bush. In the volcanic hills or extinct craters 
that surround the city of Auckland there are numerous small caves, formed by large cracks or fissures 
in the ancient lava-streams, the entrance to them being generally indicated by a clump of stunted 
trees growing up among loose blocks of scoria. These gloomy recesses are a favourite resort of the 
Morepork in the daytime. „ ,, 
On the approach of night its whole nature is changed : the half-closed orbits open to their full 
extent the pupils expand till the yellow irides are reduced to a narrow external margin, and the 
lustrous orbs -low with animation, while all the movements of the bird are full of life and activity. 
It then sallies forth from its hiding-place and explores in all localities, preferring, however, the out- 
skirts of the forest, where nocturnal insects abound, and the bush-clearings in the neighbourhood of 
farms or the ruins of Maori villages, these places being generally infested with rats and mice, on 
which it chiefly subsists. Like other birds of prey, it afterwards regurgitates the hair and other 
indigestible parts of these animals in hard pellets. That the Morepork also preys on small birds 
there can be no reasonable doubt, although it has been frequently called m question. Captain Man 
has seen one, at sunset, seated on the branch of a tutu bush {Coriaria ruscifoha) with a live Konmako 
in its claws, and in the act of killing it; and a native once told me that he had seen one of these 
Owls killing and devouring a Parrakeet. Mr. Drew, of Wanganui, informs me that the stomach of 
one which he skinned contained the entire body of a House-Sparrow. Captain Eobinson, of Manawatu, 
further attests the fact ; for on one occasion, when walking in his garden after sunset, he saw a Morepork 
emerge from a blue-gum and spring upon a Kingfisher, firmly grappling it in its daw* The bird 
uttered a cry of pain or terror ; and on my informant advancing towards the spot, the Owl released 
its victim and flew off; but immediately afterwards made a second attack, securing the Kingfisher 
firmly in its grasp, and only relaxing its hold at the moment of being seized. . 
Mr J T Stewart informs me that, in his own garden at Foxton, he has witnessed two instances 
of the Owl attacking and vanquishing the Kingfisher, this happening on both occasions towards 
evenin°*. 
I have been informed by Sir George Grey that, of nearly a hundred Diamond-Span ows which 
he liberated on the island of Kawau, very few survived the ravages of this little Owl, and that some 
other importations suffered in like manner. Sir Edward Stafford, who had for many years interested 
himself in the introduction and acclimatization of useful birds, has also given evidence against the 
Morepork on this charge ; for he has assured me that on one occasion, having turned out a large 
number of insectivorous birds in his grounds at Wellington, an unusual number of Owls sought 
harbour there, and preyed on the little immigrants till scarcely a single one remained, lor a con- 
siderable time, however, it was doubted whether the Morepork was destructive to acclimatized biids , 
and a len-thy controversy on the subject appeared in the Auckland newspapers. The careful observa- 
tions of Mr. Brighton, the Curator of the local Acclimatization Society, at length placed the matter 
beyond all discussion. Frequently he had to forego his night’s rest in order to watch the aviaries 
and during a period of only a few months he shot no less than fourteen of these birds. Some of 
these were surprised in the act of attacking the aviaries, and all of them in the immediate vicinity. 
He repeatedly found the dead and lacerated bodies of Sky-Larks and Chaffinches lying on t e wooden 
ledge just inside the eave of the wire-roofing ; and the abundance of Morepork- eathers found 
entangled in the netting afforded a clue to the perpetrator of these murderous attacks From the 
appearance of the feathers, and the mutilated condition of the dead birds, it was evident that the 
Morepork had tried hard, but unsuccessfully, to pull them through the wire netting m the roof. The 
following account, by the Curator, renders this perfectly intelligible : 
u The aviary is constructed in the usual manner, on the model of a bird-cage, of wire netting 
over a wooden framework, with a sloping roof, also of wire netting. Attached to the framework 
