in New Zealand. 
2&\ 
turning.* At 2 p..nu we arrived at lluutahunay a 
small village, surrounded on all sides by dense forests, 
where we were hospitably received. The natives soon 
cooked us some potatoes, on which we made a very 
hearty meal. Several of the natives of this village 
were engaged in making and carving poukakas , i. ev 
parrot-stands; which they use in catching the large 
brown New Zealand parrot (Plyctolophus Meridio- 
nails). These birds, which are very numerous in 
these woods, are decoyed, by means of a tame one 
fastened to a perch, to alight on the snare-ltk epoukaka, 
when they are instantly seized by the native who i& 
concealed for that purpose. They are fond of taming 
these birds, which if taken young will soon talk, but 
they are very mischievous, and their bite is hard. Their 
body is a dark-russet-brown colour, with red feathers 
under the throat and wings. These red feathers are in 
great request for ornamenting their hauls , i.e. carved- 
headed staffs, which they use as weapons of defence. 
The flesh of this parrot is dry and lean, but is eaten by 
the natives, who call it, lvaka. That little black pest, 
the sand-fly, was here in countless swarms; owing, 1 
suppose, to the sandy nature of the soil. I never before 
* This however, is quite in keeping with the national character of the 
New Zealander. Prompted incessantly by an ever-restless and indomi¬ 
tably independent principle of doing some capricious work of superero¬ 
gation, whilst their defined duties are left undone, they often sadly try 
to the utmost the patience of those with whom they have to do. In their 
own language they have a word (pokavoa) which, while it fully conveys 
the force and meaning of the foregoing remark, is, from the frequency 
of the occurrence of such conduct, in daily if not hourly use by every 
native of New Zealand, Nor is such a capricious way of acting confined 
to those who are still in their, novitiate, on the contrary, those who may 
have been for years in your employ, arc equally, if not more, prone to 
such conduct. 
