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QBBEN aBOUND PABBOT. 
It is curious that this bird should never be imported, and on ques- 
tioning a wholesale dealer in foreign birds as to the reason, he replied 
that the Ground Parrots fed on fresh roots and bulbous plants, and 
could not be preserved alive during the voyage to this country: which 
we think can scarcely be the true reason; for if the delicate honey- 
eating Lories can be brought over alive, surely a bird that can make 
a hearty meal off a raw potato, should not be very difficult to cater 
for, but ought to be imported with ease. 
The fact is, bird-dealers, like other people, get into a groove, and 
there is no such thing as getting them out of it: they have not been 
used to such and such birds, and one might just as well inquire for 
a Phoenix at their establishments, as for one of the Ground Parrots, 
or other birds to which they are unaccustomed. 
The Ground Parrots are partly insectivorous in their habits, and we 
doubt the possibility of their been kept alive for any length of time 
without an adequate supply of insect food; but where cockroaches 
abound, and mealworms are readily attainable, this should be no in- 
surmountable difficulty in the way either of their importation, or pre- 
servation when imported. Let the dealers then see to it, and bring 
us over some Ground Parrots, and Gang Gangs, and other birds, 
plentiful enough in their own country, but rare, or altogether unknown 
here, and they will bo remunerated for their trouble, and no incon- 
siderable advance be made in the knowledge of ornithology, which, as 
a home pursuit, is quite in its infancy among us. 
New Zealand contains a number of different species of these birds, 
varying in size from that of a small goose, to that of a Eosella Parrakeet, 
all coloured and shaped after the same pattern, and certain to be the 
first of the Parrots to fade away from the surface of the earth, in 
consequence of their feeble powers of flight, and inability to convey 
themselves out of reach of predatory animals. One species, Strigops 
hahroptilus, has already almost disappeared from its native haunts, and 
the others are getting scarcer every year. 
Some of these birds burrow in the ground, like rabbits, and bring 
up their young in this situation : the Groat Owl Parrot of NerV Zealand 
being an especial instance of departure from the general habits of the 
race. Writing of this species, Mr. Wood observes: “Even in its habits 
this bird has much of the Owl nature, being as strictly nocturnal as 
any of those bii’ds (the Owls). During the daytime it conceals itself 
in holes, under the stumps of trees, and similar localities, seldom being 
seen except after sunset. The natives of New Zealand, where it is 
found, say that during the winter months the Owl Parrots assemble 
together in great numbers, collecting themselves into certain large 
