Banks' Raven Cockatoo belongs to New South Wales, and is principally found in the district between Moreton Bay and Port Philip, though by no means rare in the immediate neighbourhood of Sydney and other large towns. Its flight is heavy; the wings are lax, and seem to move with difficulty; it seldom rises high in the air, but will, nevertheless, sometimes fly for a mile at a stretch; whilst on the wing it utters a loud cry, which is less shrill than the harsh screech of the cockatoo. When on the ground, these birds move with difficulty; upon the tops of trees their motions are less deliberate, but always slow. Most of them are shy and distrustful, owing no doubt to the manifold persecutions from which they suffer, and it is only during feeding-time that they are less upon the watch. They are much attached to their companions, and should one of them be killed or wounded, the hapless individual is seldom deserted by the others, who generally fly about him, uttering a wailing cry, and expose themselves so recklessly to the hunter, that he, knowing how to avail himself of this habit, often succeeds in capturing the whole flock.
THE KAKAPO, OR NIGHT-PARROT OF NEW ZEALAND.
For the same reason that the Owls and the Falcons are grouped as distinct families, we shall consider the Kakapo, or Night-parrot of New Zealand (Strigops habroptilus) as the type of a peculiar race. This bird, indeed, reminds us so forcibly of the Owls, that were it not for the structure of the foot, we should decidedly class it as one of them. Its scientific name of "owl-faced" (Strigops) is very well chosen. The large body of this species is covered with soft, delicate feathers, which form a rudimentary veil about the face; the wings are short and trough-shaped; the tail long and rounded; the beak long, bent like that of an owl, and nearly covered with stiff, bristle-like feathers; the feet are of middle size, the toes long. The general colour is a dark green, interspersed with tolerably regular stripes, and some irregular yellow spots; upon the breast the colour is lighter and yellower than on the back, and the stripes are indistinct; the green tail is banded with dark brown. The habitat of the Kakapo is restricted to New Zealand, and the species is now found in tolerable abundance only in the most remote Alpine valleys of the southern island. It has been nearly exterminated in the northern portion. Lyall and Haast have given us full particulars of its habits. "The Kakapo," says the first of these writers, "is still found occasionally in the northern districts of New Zealand, frequenting the dry cliffs or the low grounds near the banks of the rivers, where the high trees and woods are, to some extent, free from ferns and brushwood. The first time we met with it was upon some hills, rising 4,000 feet above the level of the sea; but we afterwards found it living with others of the same species, on open spots near the mouth of the river, and not far from the coast." "Most striking," adds Haast, "is the fact that the Kakapo (except in the valley of the Makavora, formed by the Lake Wanaka) is never seen east of the mountains, although forests abound there; apparently the absence of woodland in the intervening district is an obstacle to its farther progress in that direction. These birds are less numerous in the Wilkin valley, where I have observed traces of the wild dog; in the valley of the Hunter, which is only separated from these districts by a chain of not very high mountains and some inconsiderable hills, no trace of them is to be found, although the fine beech forests offer them a favourable retreat." "In such places," says Lyall, "the tracks of the Kakapo were visible; these are about a foot wide, very regularly worn, and often resemble in so striking a manner those made by men, that at first we really believed that the natives must have been in the neighbourhood. The Kakapo lives in holes under the roots of trees, and in the cavities of overhanging rocks."
Lyall tells us that the holes he saw had two openings, and the trees above them were for some distance hollow. The Kakapo, he says, was not visible by day, except when driven from its retreat; and he was never able to find it but with the help of dogs. When these birds were more plentiful, the natives used to catch them at night by torch-light. There is a breed of half-wild dogs in the northern part of this island continually hunting the Kakapos, which, indeed, they have almost exterminated. It is said that the spread of these dogs is arrested by a river; but it is to be feared that so soon as they succeed in crossing that barrier, the total extinction of these birds will ensue; for although they use their beak and claws very energetically, and can make a powerful resistance, still, sooner or later, they must succumb to their four-footed enemy, and ultimately share the fate of the Moa, the Dronte, and other species recently become extinct. "The Maoris assure me," says Haast, "that the Kakapo is brave, and often confronts the dogs with success; but this cannot be credited if their dogs are worth anything, for mine never had any serious battle with it. At first, the dog was attacked both with beak and claws, but it soon learnt to conquer its game by biting it through the back." An idea was formerly entertained that the Kakapos were nocturnal in their habits, but our observations lead us to believe that this is not exactly the case. We generally heard their voices about an hour after sunset, in places which were rendered dark and obscured by thick foliage, and they then began to sweep about, attracted by the light. We, however, twice saw these birds during the day feeding upon the ground, and strictly upon their guard against approaching danger. On the first occasion, about noon on a cloudy day, we were returning through an open wood from the western coast, and saw the Kakapo sitting upon an uprooted tree, not far from the Haast river; as we approached, it quickly disappeared, but was caught by the dogs. The second time, on a clear day, as we entered a deep ravine, we saw one of these birds perched ten feet high upon a fuchsia-tree, the berries of which it was eating. As soon as it saw us, it fell, as though shot, to the earth, and disappeared beneath the surrounding blocks of stone. The most astonishing thing was, that the bird made no use of its wings; indeed, did not even open them to break its fall. In order to ascertain whether it would either fly or flutter, we followed, and having with us a Kakapo that had been taken uninjured by the dogs, we set it free upon a large, open, gravelly spot, where there was plenty of room to run away, if it wished to do so, or to raise itself into the air, even should it require a large space for that purpose. We were much surprised to find that it only ran to the nearest thicket, and that much faster than we could have thought possible from the structure of its toes and the bulk of its body. Its movements resembled those of a barn-door fowl. We stood on one side of it, and it appeared to us that it kept its wings quite close to the body; but one of our companions, who was behind it, observed that the wings were slightly raised, but motionless; so that doubtless they are employed more as a means of balancing the bird than to accelerate its progress. Though its shape is not suited to running, it can progress in this manner to a considerable distance, as we often saw by its tracks, which extended sometimes for more than a mile over sand and shingle down to the bank of the river. Lyall, however, has seen this bird flying, though only for trifling distances. "During our hunt," he says, "we only saw the Kakapo fly when, having climbed a hollow tree, it wished to reach another in the neighbourhood. From the first tree it flew down to the next in height, making its way up each in turn, climbing very quickly to the top by the help of its tail; the motion of the wings was very trifling—indeed, almost imperceptible.
"The cry of the Kakapo is a hoarse croak, which changes into a discordant screech when the bird is angry or hungry. The Maoris declare that the noise these creatures make is sometimes deafening during the winter, when they congregate in great numbers, and greet each other on their arrival or departure. The stomach of a specimen we killed contained a pale or almost white homogeneous mass, without any trace of flesh, so that, doubtless, its food consists partly of roots and partly of leaves and delicate shoots of plants. We observed that at one place where the birds were very numerous, a leguminous plant, growing on the banks of the river, had all its buds nipped off; and learnt from a boatman, who had lived in that place for many years engaged in the whale fisheries, that the Kakapo was the offender. We also found its beak covered with hardened dirt. This species, he told us, requires a great deal of river water in order to dilute the pulpy mass of vegetable matter in its crop. Except in two instances, in which berries had been eaten, we found the crop always filled with half-digested moss, and so distended and heavy that it weighed many ounces; the bird, moreover, appeared much smaller when the crop was emptied. The quantity of innutritious food with which it stuffs itself explains its liking for living upon the ground, and compels it to resort to wild localities inhabited by no other parrots. Another peculiarity, also perhaps a consequence of this vegetable diet, is, that instead of the soft oily fat that other birds have under the skin, it has an abundance of solid white fat; its flesh is much whiter than that of other parrots, and has a very superior flavour. We must be forgiven for observing that it is a dainty article of food for those who are wandering in these wildernesses, and we can quite believe that the Maoris smack their lips whenever the Kakapo is mentioned."
On the subject of their propagation, Lyall makes the following statement:—"During the latter half of February and the first days of March, at which time we tarried among the dwelling-places of the Kakapos, I found young in many holes, often only one, and never more than two in each. In one instance I found a single nestling and an addled egg. Sometimes, not always, I found the parent in the hole. There is no real nest; the bird only scratches a shallow cavity in the dry mass of decayed wood. The egg is pure white, about the size of a pigeon's.
"Many young birds were brought to us on board ship, but most of them died in a few days, apparently in consequence of the unusual treatment; others lived for some months. Generally, after a few weeks, their legs were crippled by confinement, either on account of the smallness of their cage, or the want of proper food. We fed them principally with sopped bread and cooked potatoes; if we allowed them to run about in the garden, they ate the grass and cabbages, and snapped eagerly at every green leaf that came in their way. A Kakapo which we succeeded in bringing alive to within six hundred miles of the English coast, ate, while we resided in Sydney, the leaves of the Banksias and Eucalypti. It seemed to relish nuts and almonds, and during the latter part of our voyage home, lived almost entirely upon Brazil nuts. On several occasions this bird was seized with cramp for two or three days, and whilst this lasted it ate nothing, cried furiously, and hacked with its bill if any one ventured to disturb it. At such times it was not to be trusted, for it bit most fiercely, precisely when least expected. Its temper was always at the best when any one took it out of its cage. Early in the morning it would busy itself, as soon as out of confinement, with the first object that came in its way, generally with our trousers or boots. The latter it much fancied—it would squat upon them, beat its wings, and give every symptom of the greatest enjoyment; it would then rise, rub its sides against them, roll on them back downwards, and kick its feet in the most lively manner. An unlucky accident caused its death."
Another of these birds, which Captain Stoke brought ashore and transmitted to the care of Major Murray, was allowed to run about the garden freely. It showed a strong liking for the company of children, and would follow them about like a dog.
The Long-tailed Parrots are rich in species, and present considerable variety in their dimensions, their size ranging from that of the largest Parrot to that of a Finch; but they all possess in common a graduated tail, at least as long as the body, the middle feathers of which are sometimes twice the length of those at the side. The wings, which are moderately pointed, seldom reach, when folded, beyond the first third of the tail. The beak is, as a rule, strong, almost always short, and very round, but sometimes, in solitary cases, it is long and but slightly bowed.