The nest is just a small hollow lined with a few bits of grass, and sometimes even these are absent. Most of the nests are connected with the exterior by a long “run,” which is made up of the natural crevices and fissures in the rocks, but Mr. R. Urquhart this year found in a cave a nest which was quite easy to get at owing to the absence of this long passage. Mr. F. F. C. Huddleston gives an account of a nest that he once found, and, from the number of keas found in it, seemed to indicate that it was a sort of breeding colony, for he says that twenty keas came out of it. However, none of my other correspondents mention anything of this kind, so that it must at least be a very rare occurrence.

One of my correspondents states that he has found nestlings in June, but this, like the finding of kea-eggs in May, seems to be rather the exception than the rule. From the accounts that I have received, it is evident that the eggs may be laid as early as the end of June or the beginning of July, and young birds may be expected towards the end of the latter month.

Mr. R. Urquhart found four young birds in a nest on the 21st of August, and as they were about three weeks old when they were found, the eggs must have been laid towards the beginning of July.

The young keas, from all accounts, seem to remain a long time in the nest. Mr. J. McIntosh found some young ones in September and took them out of the nest in December, so they must be nearly full-grown before they leave their parents.

Through the kindness of Mr. R. Urquhart, I received two live kea nestlings, and so was able to see for myself how helpless they are even at an advanced stage of development. The birds were about two months old when I received them, and though they were about the size of an ordinary pigeon, they were quite unable to move about or swallow their food. Their wings were fairly strong, and were flapped sometimes, though rarely, when food was brought to them, but though their legs were large they seemed quite devoid of muscular action, and were never used. Indeed, so helpless were they that when being photographed they would not move from the position in which they were first placed

As there are very few descriptions of young keas on record, I have inserted the following from my diary:—

“22nd September, 1906.—Received two young live keas from Mr. R. Urquhart. Since their capture, a month previous, they have been fed with thin strips of sheep's kidney, which has to be poked down their throats with a small stick. Their cry somewhat resembles that of their parents, but is weaker

and very plaintive. They possess a very disagreeable odour, even when kept in clean apartments.

“Head: Bill—Upper mandible large, and black in colour with the exception of a slight tinge of yellow on the top of the arch. It is not so long as the bill of an adult bird, nor so pointed. Lower mandible of a yellow colour with the exception of a black tip. Wattle round the nostril plentiful and of a light-yellow colour. Mouth large, and on each side of the head at the angle of the jaws there is a large mass of light-yellow material, resembling wattle in appearance, and forming a kind of sac to keep the food from falling out of the sides of the mouth.

“Body: Most of the body, except under the wings, is covered with young feathers, which, like those in the adult bird, are dark-green often fringed with black. The large feathers of the tail and wings are just coming out of their quills. Legs large, dark-grey in colour, with black claws; very weak, and at present useless. The body and head are still covered to a certain extent with long grey down, but this is fast disappearing.

“24th September, 1906.—The larger bird can swallow small pieces of kidney if placed well in the mouth; the other has still to be fed with the aid of a stick. Both seem to enjoy the kidney, and even though they have had nothing else to eat they seem strong and healthy.

“28th September, 1906. — Both caught a chill by being left outside. Smaller one died, and I have chloroformed the other.”

I think it is a noteworthy fact that the kea, though living in a region where the cold and severity of the winter is especially felt, builds its nest, lays its eggs, and hatches its young during the most severe months of winter. During this season its domain is swept by a succession of severe storms, and often the ground is covered for months with several inches of snow. That birds in warm countries do often nest in the winter months is not altogether unknown, but for a bird to rear its young in winter at an altitude of 3,000 ft. or 4,000 ft., in a country where even at sea-level the other birds seem to find it unwise to nest until the spring weather comes, is at any rate remarkable.

It has been suggested that the taste for meat has now become hereditary to the young keas, for when they are given raw meat they eat it readily. The two forwarded to me by Mr. R. Urquhart fed greedily on sheep's kidneys, Mr. W. N. Ford found some kea chicks only a few days out of the shell, and with their eyes still closed, and he kept them for six weeks feeding them on sop and raw meat. This would appear at first sight as if the taste for meat was hereditary; but as pieces of meat have been found outside the nest, it is most likely that the