ADDENDA. 303 
7° forests on every side,’ will be read by all with interest. It is extracted from 
‘Mr. Colenso’s account of visits to the Ruahine mountain-range, &c.’’* 
: ‘It was early summer (October), and snow had fallen pretty heavily but 
/ quietly during the night, and in the morning the whole village was a few inches 
deep in snow, while the great mountain-range before me was looking sublime. 
Close to the village and even within its fence were several very large kowhai trees 
(Sophora tetraptera); these were covered with their golden flowers, and mostly 
without leaves. The sun was shining brightly, and the parrots flocked screaming 
from the forests around to the Sophora blossoms. It was a strange sight to see 
them; how deftly they managed to go out to the end of a long lithe branch— 
preferring to walk parrot-fashion—and there swinging, back downwards, lick out 
the honey with their big tongues without injuring the young fruit! . . . For, 
seeing but very few petals falling (and those only vexille), 1 sent some of the 
boys to climb the trees and bring me several marked flowering branches which had 
been visited by the parrots. I found that all of the fully-expanded flowers had 
had the upper part of their calyces torn open, and the uppermost petal (vexilum) 
torn out; this the parrots had done to get at the honey. As the flowers are 
produced in Jarge thick bunches some are necessarily twisted or turned upside 
down ; still, it was always that peculiar petal and that part of the calyx (though 
often in such cases undermost) which had been torn away. Through this no 
injury was done to the young enclosed fruit, which would in all probability have 
been the case if any of the other petals had been bitten off. It cannot be said 
that it is owing to the vextllum being the largest petal (as it is in many papiliona- 
ceous flowers) that it is then laid hold of and torn away by the parrot, such ot 
being the case in this genus, for the long fruit runs down through the two 
carinated lowermost petals that are often quite 2in. long, and 1s further protected 
by the two side ones (alae), which four, from their being closely imbricated 
together, forma much larger and firmer hold for the bird’s beak. Further, as 
the New Zealand parrot (Nestor meridionalis) is a large bird with a huge bill, 
and as the flowers are always produced on the tips of the small branches, which 
bend and play about under the weight of its body—not to mention the high 
winds which generally prevail in those elevated and open regions—one cannot 
but suppose it to be no easy matter for the bird to get a bite at them at all so 
as to make a proper opening whereby to insert its thick tongue and lick out the 
sweet contents without injuring the young immature fruit, especially when we 
further consider that the common practice of the parrot is to take up in its 
claws whatever it wishes to discuss. Of all the flowers I examined (and | 
scrutinised a great many during the two or three days of snow) only the upper 
part of the calyx and corolla had been torn, and in none was the young fruit 
wanting; nor did I notice any bunches which had had their flowers wholly torn 
off. What with the glistening snow, the sun shining, and the golden blossoms 
of those trees, the numerous parrots diligently and fearlessly at work so close to 
the village, yet often screaming, the other birds, tuis (Prosthemadera Nove- 
Zéelandie), and korimakos (Anthornis imelanura), singing melodiously, snugly 
ensconced in their leafy bowers, having earlier had their morning meal, with 
now and then the large feathery flakes of snow falling thickly and silently around, 
it was altogether a peculiar and interesting sight; and, natural though it was, 
it seemed unnatural and by no means pleasing.” 
* Page 47, 
