ZOOLOGY. 
139 
nights. . They ran them down partly with dogs, or even killed 
them with long sticks upon the tutu bushes: another mode was, 
when they had found out their holes, to introduce a long stick, 
into them, to which they had fastened several strong flax snares; 
feeling the bird with the end of it, they began to twist the stick 
so as to bring some part of the bird into the snares, and thus drag 
it out. The call of the kakapo, heard during the night, very much 
resembles the gobble of the turkey. 
In the forest a great variety of birds is to be observed, but it 
would lead me too far were I to enumerate them all. Some of 
them are seldom seen, but are everywhere to be found, as for 
instance the ruru (Athene Novae Seelandise), the “more pork” of 
the settlers, the two melancholy notes of which are invariably heard 
one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise. 
Another inhabitant of the forest and rocky mountain sides is 
the kiwi (Apteryx Australis), which is still abundant in many 
spots, and, judging from their different calls, of various species. 
As unfortunately 1 had no dog with me, I was not able to procure 
any specimens of them, but, after what I could observe on the 
summits of Papahaua, the tracks in the snow showed me that the 
native description of a large kiwi, like a turkey, could not be well 
exaggerated. 
The noisy kaka (Nestor meridionalis), plays a conspicuous role 
in the forest. It is a gregarious bird, perching generally on the 
highest trees, but as soon as the assembled flock hear a noise 
unknown to them they approach, amusing the traveller by their 
various quarrelsome notes and shrieks. If in shooting after them 
one only is wounded so that it may be secured, it is an easy 
matter to shoot one after the other, as they always come back 
when they hear the cry of their wounded companion. 
It is true that the New Zealand songsters cannot be compared 
with the European singing birds, but their music has also its 
charms, and it is a moment of delight for the traveller to listen to 
the concert of all the different birds when the morning dawns. 
Amongst them the kakorimaka (Anthornis melanuris) is the most 
conspicuous. I can only compare their united tune, as Captain 
Cook has already done with great justness, although each An¬ 
thornis has only a few notes, to well tuned chimes, and I never 
was tired of listening to their morning concert, which generally 
ceases when the jealous kaka begins with its discordant screams. 
The tui (Prosthemadera Novae Seelandise) is another songster 
which assists in the performance of the concerts. 
Two other birds are very numerous. The first is the kakako 
(Callaeas cinerea), the New Zealand crow; generally a pair is 
together; they remain in the lower grounds, and are not frightened 
at men, so that they can be easily secured. Their musical 
although melancholy notes, which harmonize with their sable 
hue, resounding through the tranquil woods, give a certain charm 
